Cal's working on her HSPU, are you?

This is usually the part of the blog where we talk about the workout, and how to attack it, and what it means to us personally, and that’s all very nice. But we’ve got some really really important stuff going on here today, so let’s cut to the chase and make this simple:

It is this coach’s humble opinion that Diane – like all 21-15-9 couplets – is a speed workout. This means that unless you are sub-10 minutes as RX, you are much better served scaling the movements today to get a good metcon, then going to work for a few months with volume training to improve your HSPU and try it again later. Scaling the motion to effectively train means using a full range of motion – so generally I’ll recommend a band harness to full depth over a stack of AbMats.

This means that many of you will be scaling the HSPU using a band harness contraption, or heavy dumb-bell strict presses. We’ll take some time exploring the scaling options tomorrow and find what’s right for you, but ultimately your scaling target is to be around 6-8 minutes for your time here, and to be heaving at the end of it. (Unless you’re doing it as-RX, at which point your target is 2 minutes and to be feeling like you’re going to die at the end of it.)

Now, on to the really really important stuff.

Every coach at CrossFit Fenway has a little different style. Yes, we all work together and talk about programming and how we’re going to be coaching you. Yes, we all work together on building a professional environment, and even take classes together on how to be better coaches. Even so our methods of presentation vary widely. You know what I’m getting at here… the team is in California today, and the question on everyone’s mind is…

What will Sam’s playlist include?

Sam has coached with us on many occasions, this will be the first time that he makes the all-important selection on his own iPod. What will he be bringing to the facility? I’m excited to find out… and all of you who sign up for evening classes will get a chance to find out tomorrow. I haven’t heard it yet, but I know that he’s been working long and hard on this very topic and has something special planned for y’all.

As always, post times and opinions on the playlist to the comment section here.

July 28, 2011
Diane
21-15-9
Deadlift (225#/155#)
Handstand Push-ups

Compare to 110225

FIGHT GONE BAD 6: Registration for Fight Gone Bad 6 is open.  This year the Special Operations Warrior Foundation and the CrossFit Foundation are benefiting from the fundraising efforts.  Sign up and join in this great community event as a part of the CrossFit Fenway team.

CROSSFIT GAMES 2011: JT will be out with the CrossFit Fenway team and will be blogging all of the action on the CrossFit Fenway Facebook page. You can catch video coverage after the fact on ESPN3, and maybe some streaming during the day, but the only way to stay in touch with the up-to-the-minute scoop (with a Fenway bias) is to stay plugged into Facebook. See you there!

Pope, focused on the erg.

Eric and Stacey are in California, and the rest of the Competition Team is departing at 6am this morning. That means we’ve got an old-school schedule and some old-school CrossFit benchmarks coming your way in the next few days.

Jackie’s a favorite of mine! It’s a great burner benchmark that anyone can RX once you get your pullups. Move fast! Determination to hang on to the bar and not break up your thrusters will make the difference on your speed – then it’s all up to how you attack the pullups.

One trick to keep in mind is how you maintain your back angle during the row. You can strain and wear yourself out fast in that row, which will make maintaining your upright form in the front squat portion of the thruster a significant challenge. Keep good form on the row, push straight through the thrusters, and then use your best strategy and guts on the pullups.

Morning is JT’s funtime just like the old days – noontime gets a taste of Dennis’ style, and the night-time is Yosh-time. (There may be dancing.) Yosh and JT head to California tomorrow night, so come on down and join us for one of my favorite benchmarks!

July 27, 2011
Jackie
1,000m Row
50 Thrusters, 20kg
30 Pull-ups

Compare to 101112

FIGHT GONE BAD 6: Registration for Fight Gone Bad 6 is open.  This year the Special Operations Warrior Foundation and the CrossFit Foundation are benefiting from the fundraising efforts.  Sign up and join in this great community event as a part of the CrossFit Fenway team.

I missed my goal of gaining 10 pounds in a month. Why did I fail to meet those targets?
1) Didn’t eat enough. My average calorie intake was only 3,332 calories per day. My target was 4100.
– By the math I did at the start, that would have suggested that I would be 6 pounds short of my target, but instead I was only 2 pounds short. Why is the math off? A longer data set would give us more clues.
2) Didn’t sleep enough. I fell way short of my goal to sleep 8-9 hours per night, and averaged only about 7 hours instead. I’ll work on this.

However, I did manage to gain 8.3 pounds in those 4 weeks, and keep my body fat ratio exactly the same! I added weight completely proportionately, which is an outstanding result in my opinion.

My strength also increased, even more than the proportionate mass gain would suggest. This 4.6% increase in lean body mass resulted in significantly larger gains in my Deadlift (130kg x1 went to 140kg x3, with NO deadlift work during that time), and of course my squats got much heavier in that time (from 65kg x16 to 90kg x15).

More than anything else, I learned to let go of my fear. Eating more is not, in fact, going to turn me back into the “old JT” – a big fat guy who weighs 260 pounds and can’t run more than 100 meters at a time. Even dairy isn’t going to do that. I can eat relatively clean and in quantities large enough to make me ill, and as long as I’m doing CrossFit and lifting heavy stuff, I’ll just get bigger. Stronger. More capable.

This is an enormous relief – and even a bit of a surprise, for me. I had thought my metabolism to be destroyed, burnt out after 32 years of abuse. Apparently the human body is more resilient than I thought. My temperature is running hot these days, processing all these calories, but I’m not holding excessive piles of those calories as fat, which is great!

Ultimately, this has been a 3-month-long experiment in three different kinds of paleo eating. I’ve documented everything that went into my mouth over that time period, and shared the process and the results as openly and completely as I can with all of you. I’ve learned a lot about myself in this process, and hopefully the rest of you have seen things in this experiment that you can take and incorporate into your own nutrition plans.

I’m tired of writing everything down. I’m going to take a break. Maybe I’ll spend the next three months writing about gender politics and philosophy, but I won’t be food logging for a while. I don’t want to become too obsessed over this food, and it’s my intention to take the fear out of food (for all of us) instead of creating more eating disorders.

So I’ll be relaxing: I will still eat big for a while, and lift heavy, because I want to get bigger and stronger. And, I will do that in a laid back, relaxed manner that will hopefully demonstrate to you (and me) that you can incorporate hard-learned dietary lessons into your daily life without being a compulsive food journaler.

I hope you enjoyed this, or at least found it useful. Thanks for all the comments and questions and support, throughout this process. I’m grateful to share it with each and every one of you – and wish you all the best in your own experiments.

This body is the only toy you’ll ever really own, people. Have fun playing with it.

Monday, July 26th

4 eggs (280/4/18/24)
Cheese (110/1/9/6)
1 cup whole milk + 2 scoops whey (330/16/8/48)
1 cup whole milk (150/12/8/8)
Salad w Grilled Chicken (250/3/6/30)
Pistachios (170/2/15/6)
1 cup whole milk + 2 scoops whey (330/16/8/48)
1 cup whole milk + 2 scoops whey (330/16/8/48)
Beef Jerky (120/3/2/23)
2 Chicken+Cheese burgers (480/6/24/58)
2 Turkey+Cheese burgers (440/2/20/58)
Fage greek yogurt + 2 scoops whey protein (270/11/0/55)
1 cup whole milk (150/12/8/8)
Ice cream (260/28/14/6)
Totals: 3670 calories. 132g carbs, 148g fat, 426g protein.
– Oh, finally. Enough protein. Whew, that’s a relief. Feels good, man.

I’m looking into signing up with a local organic CSA food share for meats to increase my quality, so if you have ideas let me know.

Tuesday, July 27th

1 cup whole milk + 2 scoops whey (330/16/8/48)
1 cup whole milk + 2 scoops whey (330/16/8/48)
sockeye salmon (170/0/9/22)
1 cup whole milk + 2 scoops whey (330/16/8/48)
1 cup whole milk + 2 scoops whey (330/16/8/48)
2 Chicken+Cheese burgers (480/6/24/58)
2 Turkey+Cheese burgers (440/2/20/58)
Almonds (190/2/16/5)
Almond bar: Mareblu Naturals (180/11/12/5)
12 oz steak (600/0/21/90)
3oz cheese (330/3/27/18)
Totals: 3710 calories. 88g carbs, 161g fat, 448g protein.
– It was a busy day at the gym, and I got by just drinking my calories. At least I got plenty of protein!

Wednesday, July 28th

Almonds (190/2/16/5)
4 eggs (280/4/18/24)
2 oz Cheese (220/2/18/12)
3 cups whole milk (450/36/24/24)
1 cup whole milk + 2 scoops whey (330/16/8/48)
Beef Jerky (280/22/6/42)
12 pieces Sashimi (360/0/3/84)
Sesame bark (160/10/11/4)
Chicken+Cheese burgers (240/3/12/29)
Turkey+Cheese burgers (220/1/10/29)
2x Mahi Mahi burgers (240/0/10/36)
Totals: 2970 calories. 96g carbs, 136g fat, 337g protein
– Another long day, but loads of good protein at the end of it helped compensate for not eating enough protein consistently through the day.

Thursday, July 29th. 85kg body weight.

4 eggs (280/4/18/24)
Cheese (110/1/9/6)
3 whey shakes (480/6/9/90)
Longhorn Trio: salmon, chicken, sirloin (860/24/37/107)
Broccoli (150/12/0/18)
Mozzarella (160/2/12/16)
1 cup whole milk + 2 scoops whey (330/16/8/48)
1 pound, steak (800/0/28/120)
ice cream (280/36/12/10)
1 cup whole milk (150/12/8/8)
whey shake (160/2/3/30)
Totals: 3760 calories. 127g carbs, 144g fat, 477g protein

Friday, July 30th

You’ll just have to ask. I’m done writing this down for a while.

However, I am more than happy to help you develop your OWN meal plan to meet your goals, and to answer any questions about what I’ve done over the last three months. Good luck – and I’ll see you at CrossFit Fenway!

Both are excellent instructors, and I encourage you to be in touch about learning how to get up in the air! In addition, here’s a few words from Joanna about what she does and why she’s excited to be doing it with all of us at CrossFit Fenway!

Greetings CFF community,

There are some really exciting things going on at CFF lately! One of the most unusual is the new aerial arts equipment. You may be wondering what this new thing is all about, so I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself as one of the new aerials instructors.

Every time I walk into CrossFit Fenway, I love to see the personal goals written on the walls. The myriad of reasons why you are all here is awe inspiring.
I think about why I’m here – both as an aerialist and as a teacher – and I’d like to share with you my personal goals for every student who walks into my class:

1. For you to do something you’ve never done before or didn’t think you could do.
2. For both your body and your mind to thank you for doing this.

If you’d like to take a look at my personal work, you can find it here: www.dominiqueimmora.com
But the demonstration of skill in any subject is only part of the art of teaching. To be a good teacher is a calling. It requires a love for the sharing of an art/subject/discipline that one takes joy in oneself. A good teacher shares in the wonder of exploring and in thrives on watching students develop confidence, knowledge, and skill.

I began my working career as a high school teacher. I studied to be History teacher in college and headed straight for the classroom after my final college class (literally!). But I came to realize the classroom was not the place for me. I loved teaching, loved imparting knowledge, loved seeing success in my students, but the format lacked something I needed.

Instead, I poured my efforts into the circus arts I was already performing. I learned and taught everything I could. I managed the curriculum for the WildFire training retreat. This past year I took the Trapeze Teacher Training at NECCA.

In learning I am constantly humbled by what I don’t know. The better one understands the complex bio-mechanics of strength, flexibility, endurance, and coordination, the easier it is to teach and execute safely any physical art, sport, or activity. Towards that end I have started down what will be a long road to greater understanding. I am now certified in Myoskeletal Alignment Therapy and am studying to become a structural integration based yoga teacher and bodyworker through South Boston Yoga, a personal trainer through the NSCA, and Thai Yoga Massage practitioner through Lotus Palm of Montreal. I will also have the pleasure of studying kinesiology with the highly-esteemed Tom Myers (www.anatomytrains.com) in his Body Language program this coming year.

I already see the difference in class. We pay special attention to stretching muscles that are chronically shortened, and strengthening muscles that are chronically inhibited. You will walk out of this class not only with more functional strength, but with strength and flexibility where you need it most in order to prevent common strain patterns.

To me, the best part of aerial arts is that its a great workout that teaches you to do amazing things with your body, while challenging your physical and mental limits. We all put ourselves into a box that defines what we think we’re capable of. Moving in three dimensions allows us new freedoms. In my classes, we create a safe space for you to explore, be afraid, push yourself, be exhilarated, and encourage your fellow students to do the same.

As members of CrossFit Fenway, I know we are all kinetic beings by nature. I challenge you to come try out a class. Push the boundaries of your movement, especially if you think you can’t do it. The only thing holding you back is you!

-Joanna

Note the phrasing: it doesn’t matter if you’re trying to get Big and Strong, or if you’re trying to lean out, or pursue any given speed or power goal. Your training is a huge part of it, and we’ve pretty much got that covered here at CrossFit Fenway.

Still, that’s only 1 hour of your day. That leaves the other 23 hours for you to support or sabotage your goals with your food intake and your sleep/rest schedule.

For myself, I’d been doing my big squat set every other day in addition to the CrossFit Fenway regular programming, and trying to eat big while staying on a paleo+dairy prescription. Turns out, it started to look more like a “dairy ONLY” prescription. Drinking dairy and powders is just so much easier than cooking meat. Too bad it’s not as effective at getting the rest of the nutrients that come from cooked meat.

Tuesday, July 13th

1 cup whole milk + 2 scoops whey (330/16/8/48)
Whey Shake (160/2/3/30)
2 pounds Shrimp (770/0/0/119)
Sauce (40/8/0/0)
1 cup kefir + 2 scoops whey protein (290/13/3/51)
1 cup kefir + 2 scoops whey protein (290/13/3/51)
2 chicken breasts (400/0/4/96)
1 cup whole milk + 2 scoops whey (330/16/8/48)
2 cups whole milk (300/24/16/16)
ice cream (260/28/14/6)
almonds (340/4/30/12)
Totals: 3510 calories. 124g carbs, 89g fat, 477g protein.

Wednesday, July 14th

6 eggs (420/6/27/36)
Cheese (110/1/9/6)
Whey Shake (160/2/3/30)
1 cup whole milk + 2 scoops whey (330/16/8/48)
1 cup whole milk + 2 scoops whey (330/16/8/48)
2 cups whole milk (300/24/16/16)
2 chicken breasts (400/0/4/96)
8oz chicken thighs (280/0/14/40)
ice cream (390/42/21/9)
Whey Shake (160/2/3/30)
1 cup kefir + 2 scoops whey protein (290/13/3/51)
Pistachios (170/2/15/6)
Totals: 3340 calories. 124g carbs, 131g fat, 416g protein.
– This is the last of the Good Days, believe it or not. After this, I’m starting to travel again… and even now, I’m taking the lazy way out with more dairy than shrimp and meats. Oh, and those who notice the absolute lack of vegetables are completely correct. It’s not good. At least I’m getting protein, if not all the calories I need. (Carbs are a bit high with all the dairy, too. I’ve been trying to stay under 100g carbs.)

My goal to gain weight and strength was dependent on getting all three of those factors together… and as you people know from my travel schedule in the last two weeks, it’s been shatteringly hard to keep to a regimen that focuses on dramatic strength training. In the previous weeks, I was able to force myself to set down my work and get to bed. Cooking enough red meat and chicken was augmented with 2 pound bags of frozen shrimp and loads of kefir, milk, and whey protein – all of which live in my fridge and are much harder to obtain on the road.

What I learned is that the time to build strength is when you are at home. It requires dedication not just in the facility for your hour of training, but that you align your choices throughout your days – prioritizing food, sleep, and work. If I’m going to travel, I need to schedule the flights such that I am sacrificing daytime hours instead of sleep. Instead, I booked late nights and red-eyes. I need to make time to cook and let administrative tasks slide – instead, I brought Rast back to Boston and leapt head-first into a dozen projects.

Did I fall apart? No, but the Plan sure did. Here’s some logs to show you:

Thursday, July 15th. 84.9kg body weight.

4 servings, Pistachios (680/8/60/24)
1 cup kefir + 2 scoops whey protein (290/13/3/51)
1 cup kefir + 2 scoops whey protein (290/13/3/51)
2 pounds Shrimp (770/0/0/119)
Sauce (40/8/0/0)
Whey Shake (160/2/3/30)
Fage greek yogurt + 2 scoops whey protein (270/11/0/55)
Total: 2500 calories. 55g carbs, 69g fat, 330g protein
– A bad sign: the start of my slide. I was so busy getting ready to leave town and catch my flight out to LA that I undershot my calories by 40%. That’s not going to mean good things for my strength… and neither is the cross-country flight, to be honest.

Friday, July 16th

3 packs organic beef sticks (1200/24/36/168)
Mac attack cookie, paleo treats (210/13/16/4)
Brownie (440/32/32/8)
12 oz steak (600/0/21/90)
5oz cheese (550/5/45/30)
Totals: 2780 calories. 58g carbs, 134g fat, 296g protein.
– Not NEARLY enough. Not enough sleep, not enough food, not enough water. Arrived late in LA, got a few hours of sleep. Hit my squats in the morning and missed my 5kg jump for 20 reps. Then I went after a WOD and tore up my hands. Then I spent all day in the sun at the CrossFit Games, and didn’t get enough sleep that night.

Saturday, July 17th

Organic beef sticks (400/8/12/56)
2x Double Down, Grilled (960/8/50/120)
2x ice cream (280/36/12/10)
popsicles (200/32/7/0)
Organic beef sticks (400/8/12/56)
Progenex pack (90/1/0/20)
Totals: 2330 calories. 93g carbs, 93g fat, 262g protein.
– You may notice that the bulk of my calories are coming from the Double Down – god bless KFC, I says – and these “Organic Beef Sticks”. Now, hosting the CF Games at the Home Depot Center was awesome in a lot of ways, but quality food service for cavemen is not one of those ways. Pizza and hot dogs = no thanks. Fortunately, Steve of Steve’s Club and Steve’s Originals was debuting a new product: organic paleo beef sticks. Erin totally hooked me up with tasty beef and excellent conversation.

They’re fabulous, but they sold out of beef – and after that, I got awful hungry. When the second large production batch happens, I’ll buy some wholesale for CrossFit Fenway and make them available to you here. They’re excellent. Meanwhile, they kept me alive in the stadium and ready to work all night building walls.

Sunday, July 18th

Progenex pack (90/1/0/20)
Organic beef sticks 400/8/12/56
3oz Serving chix (140/0/3/26)
2oz Serving bbq beef (90/10/2/8)
Paleo crunch (180/12/12/7)
Brownie (440/32/32/8)
Chocolate cookie (220/16/16/4)
2x Double Down, Grilled (960/8/50/120)
Almonds (260/3/24/9)
Trail mix, yogurt raisins (240/24/12/6)
scotch (90/0/0/0)
Totals: 3130 calories. 114g carbs, 163g fat, 264g protein.
– Still 1000 below my calorie target for the day, and still nowhere near the protein I need to add muscle mass. At this pace, I am just barely maintaining my weight… at least I’m not losing any more pounds.

Starting real soon now, of course. Tonight I’m on a plane, red-eye flight to Boston. Scotch and trail mix were courtesy of the United Red Carpet Club. Thanks, United! I will land, catch a few hours of sleep, and am off to the races with a full business week of schedule. Oh, and I’m coaching at Fenway tonight. Sure, I’ll get plenty of food and rest… *sigh*

And so the slide continued. That was 1 week ago. I have been keeping food logs since then, but they’re nowhere near the quality of the rest of my data. I’ve been getting my lifts back together, but it’s been slow progress because I haven’t been getting enough sleep to support max effort squat sets. I’ve been eating less than 3000 calories per day – with too much dairy and not enough meat and vegetables – but I haven’t backslid into grains or loads of sugar.

All in all, it’s not the end of the world. I’m just not going to hit my goals on building strength without prioritizing that program… and I’ve lost a few weeks of progress as a result.

When we slide, we can ignore it. That doesn’t make it go away. If we acknowledge the slide and choose to do something about it, then we’re ready to make progress again. I’m doing exactly that – seeing the slide and turning it around. As best as I can… at least now I’m back to my fridge and kitchen. Of course, it’s a busy week ahead, so my sleep suffers, but with better nutrition and at least somewhat better sleep my lifts go back to improving, and that’s important. Even more important, I’m surrounded by this awesome CrossFit Fenway community that keeps pushing me forward!

Monday, July 19th

Ice cream (130/14/7/3)
1 cup kefir + 2 scoops whey protein (290/13/3/51)
4 eggs (280/4/18/24)
Cheese (110/1/9/6)
Ice cream (130/14/7/3)
Pistachios (170/2/15/6)
1 cup kefir + 2 scoops whey protein (290/13/3/51)
1 cup whole milk (150/12/8/8)
4 mahi mahi burgers (480/0/20/72)
Ice cream (130/14/7/3)
Fage greek yogurt + 2 scoops whey protein (270/11/0/55)
Almonds (190/2/16/5)
Totals: 2620 calories. 100g carbs, 113g fat, 287g protein.
– Not enough food. Not enough fat or protein. At least the carbs are down. I probably could have done without ice cream for breakfast, lunch, and dinner too.

Tuesday, July 20th

Pistachios (170/2/15/6)
4 eggs (280/4/18/24)
1 cup kefir + 2 scoops whey protein (290/13/3/51)
Almonds (190/2/16/5)
Cheesecake (500/30/40/7)
Longhorn Steakhouse special: fish, chicken, steak (860/24/37/107)
1 cup whole milk + 2 scoops whey (330/16/8/48)
ice cream (330/36/16/8)
Totals: 2950 calories. 127g carbs, 153g fat, 256g protein.
– Eating like this is just going to add fat, not muscle. What was I thinking? I was thinking “cheesecake and ice cream is delicious”, and not “I want to get big and strong”.

Wednesday, July 21st

6 eggs (420/6/27/36)
Cheese (110/1/9/6)
1 cup milk (150/12/8/8)
1 cup whole milk + 2 scoops whey (330/16/8/48)
Chipotle meat salad (675/11/36/67)
1 cup kefir + 2 scoops whey protein (290/13/3/51)
Pistachios (170/2/15/6)
Fage greek yogurt + 2 scoops whey protein (270/11/0/55)
4 mahi mahi burgers (480/0/20/72)
Ice cream (130/14/7/3)
cream cheese (120/2/12/2)
Totals: 3145 calories. 88g carbs, 156g fat, 354g protein.
– Oh thank goodness. If I had just managed andother 50g of protein, I think I would have been happy with this. Unfortunately, this balance wasn’t going to be maintained.

Thursday, July 22nd. 83.9kg bodyweight – down 1 kg from prior week.

6 eggs (420/6/27/36)
Cheese (110/1/9/6)
1 cup whole milk + 2 scoops whey (330/16/8/48)
Kale Crisps (from Marshall’s Farm Stand next door) ()
1 cup whole milk + 2 scoops whey (330/16/8/48)
Trail Mix
1 cup whole milk + 2 scoops whey (330/16/8/48)
1 cup whole milk + 2 scoops whey (330/16/8/48)
Foie Gras (250/1/24/6)
Fish (110/1/1/22)
Wine (125/0/0/0)
Partial Totals: 2335 calories. 73g carbs, 114g fat, 262g protein. – will update later today when I get the kale crisp nutritional info
– Here, the food log tells a pretty plain story. I woke up and had a good breakfast. Then I spent the rest of the day at CrossFit Fenway, eating just what I could buy next door and supplementing it with protein powder mixed into my whole milk. When I finally stumbled out of there after the last class of the day, my friends Kat and David took me in and fed me gourmet treats before I passed out. Simple.

Then came the weekend. Friday started out with good food, and ended in… I don’t even remember. I was so wiped out and exhausted that I kept no logs. No memory. Saturday? I didn’t eat until after Invasion, around 3pm. I got about 1000 calories of food, and drank a ton of wine at the CrossFit BBQ at Kristin’s, and then partied til Dawn at another fete. Not good dietary choices – but a splendid way to blow off steam.

Now the question is: Will I continue? After falling off, the best course of action is to get back on the horse. I went grocery shopping last night. The freezer is full of shrimp, and the meat drawer is packed once again. Sliding back a few times doesn’t make me a bad person, and it doesn’t ruin all the rest of my effort, past and future.

Every moment is a chance for me to choose something different. It’s that simple.

I’ll be back in a few to tell you how we finish out. Given the options, I think my choice will be to finish strong.

It’s beautiful to see what a blessing CrossFit is for so many people. I’ve been blown away by the stories I’ve heard, talking to strangers about CrossFit. I met a whole bunch of new friends at CrossFit Arenal in Baltimore a few weeks back. I’m struck with not only the welcome received when entering a new CrossFit, but also the way our stories resonate – the way we support each other as fellow travelers on a shared path.

Not every CrossFit I’ve visited is like that. Because we’re not franchises, there’s no requirement for how things operate. The most successful CrossFit affiliates across the country, long term, are really communities of people that support each other locally – and the strength that builds is evident in the people and the businesses. Each community is different, created jointly by the vision of the trainers and the personalities of the members. I know from sampling a great many different communities and CrossFits that we are building something unique, special, and powerful right here in the heart of Boston.

I’m immensely grateful to you members of CrossFit Fenway for building that with me. I am listening to you. I’m grateful for the input that you provide, and I learn something new from you every day about how to make the world a better place – starting with this conversation, with this interaction, with this business. You come in every day and add your personality and vitality and good will into this truly remarkable creation – online, and in the WODs – and without you it doesn’t happen.

I’m also overwhelmed with gratitude for the comments and feedback that come in not just from you – my immediate Family – but also from the extended worldwide bunch that reads these pages on the web. I’m blown away by the messages sharing passion and stories and struggles and support. You’re also welcome here anytime, and I appreciate all the messages. Posted, emailed, facebooked… I am always surprised even by the passing statement in conversation: “Yeah, I know you guys. I read your website all the time. I like your (Invasions/Paleo Blog/Pictures/mainsite video/whatever). How’s the new Phase going?”

We’re not alone – not in the facility, not in Boston, not in the world. Keep posting your experiences. Keep finding ways to share more of your life with other people. It makes a difference. You can change the world just by sharing your experience of it, and opening yourself up to being known.

What’s odd is that I’m not getting all that tubby. I had expected something a little more drastic, but after the early weight gain I’ve somewhat plateaued. If anything, I’m staying about the same weight it seems… despite my apparent intention to eat every dairy product in Suffolk County.

I am certainly getting stronger. I’ve been sticking to the CrossFit Fenway WODs 3 days per week, but also added in 3 days per week of heavy squats. To be exact, that’s 1 set of 20 heavy, breathing, high bar back squats. I chose high-bar because of its transferability to the Olympic lifts, and took the protocol from Strossen’s “Super Squats” – an excellent (if brief) book. Most of its knowledge is stuff you, as CrossFitters, already know: compound lifts are good, lifting heavy is good, training hard produces results, et cetera.

That said, it’s a comically simple approach with an alarmingly bold claim for success. It also doesn’t take a whole lot of time out of my day. Combining astonishing effectiveness with astounding efficiency? Sounds pretty CrossFitty to me. I’m giving it a shot.

How’s it going? Well, my squats started at an incomplete set of 65kg – only got 16 reps before I gave up. I got mentally tougher in the 10 days since, and have bumped it up to a total of 85kg so far. That’s a 44 pound increase in just 7 sessions, which is a nice pace of progress. It’s also just above my bodyweight, which is a little amazing to me.

The rule of thumb is that these sets of 20 constitute about 65% of a personal 1 Rep Max…. so if I can increase my back squats 20RM by 66 pounds during this experiment, I will theoretically increase my 1 Rep Max by an amazing 100 pounds! Can that possibly be true? Can it really be this simple? I’ve got my hunches. Stay tuned.

In the meantime, enjoy these food logs, and a few more stories embedded below.

Friday, July 9th

1 cup kefir + 2 scoops whey protein (290/13/3/51)
1 cup kefir + 2 scoops whey protein (290/13/3/51)
Chicken and Strawberry Salad @ Longhorn Steakhouse (950/58/60/45)
Almonds (190/2/16/5)
Sunflower Seeds (170/2/15/6)
2 whey shakes (320/4/6/60)
2 pounds Shrimp (770/0/0/119)
Sauce (40/8/0/0)
2 burgers (400/0/10/30)
1 oz Cheese (110/1/9/6)
Whey Shake (160/2/3/30)
Totals: 3730 calories. 103g carbs, 125g fat, 403g protein.
– Not a bad attempt! Got the calories close (within 10% of my goal), and all the macronutrients are on target. Good work, me! Not even any alcohol today, which is a pretty soft and unhelpful calorie padder.

Note: you all know by know my brand of Kefir (Lifeway) and Greek Yogurt (Fage or Chobani, 0%). Whenever I mention a generic “whey shake”, I am referring to a batch of shakes I got at Costco, made by Premier Nutrition. They’re not all that tasty, but they’re edible when not refrigerated and they don’t have awful ingredients, so I’m using them as stopgap crutches when I can’t get other (real) food.

Saturday, July 10th

6 eggs (420/6/27/36)
Cheese (110/1/9/6)
2 chicken sausages (300/2/18/30)
Fage greek yogurt + 2 scoops whey protein (270/11/0/55)
Fage greek yogurt + 2 scoops whey protein (270/11/0/55)
2 whey shakes (320/4/6/60)
Larabar (210/13/25/3)
1 pound buffalo meat (760/0/44/92)
2 scotches (200/0/0/0)
1 glass red wine (125/0/0/0)
Tapas (1400/82/82/82)
Totals: 4385 calories. 130g carbs, 211g fat, 419g protein
– This was my partner’s birthday and birthday party night. I’m taking a wild-ass guess on the Tapas being about 1400 calories, and dividing up the macronutrients equally. I could be way off here, but they were all pretty basic “meat in broth/sauce” style dishes.

Honestly, if I had made it to Sam and Nate’s BBQ, I might have had scotch there, too. Glad you guys got a bit of a fire show from some friends of mine, even thought I couldn’t make it out there!

Sunday, July 11th

6 eggs (420/6/27/36)
Cheese (110/1/9/6)
1 cup whole milk + 2 scoops whey (330/16/8/48)
1 cup kefir + 2 scoops whey protein (290/13/3/51)
Larabar (210/13/25/3)
Whey Shake (160/2/3/30)
2 Buffalo Steaks (360/0/5/74)
2 chicken breasts (400/0/4/96)
2 cups whole milk (300/24/16/16)
1 cup whole milk + 2 scoops whey (330/16/8/48)
Fage greek yogurt + 2 scoops whey protein (270/11/0/55)
Totals: 3180 calories. 102g carbs, 108g fat, 463g protein
– I almost want to call this “gluttony month”. I seem to be eating everything within reach… and it’s still not enough. Today I’m way underneath my calorie count, and I can tell you that it was a struggle to choke down those chicken breasts and buffalo steaks. At least I managed to get enough protein. I think it’s the hot days that slows me down… that, and sleeping until 10am doesn’t help.

Monday, July 12th

6 eggs (420/6/27/36)
Cheese (110/1/9/6)
Whey Shake (160/2/3/30)
Almonds (190/2/16/5)
Pistachios (170/2/15/6)
Salad (100/20/5/2)
Cheese + Sausage (300/8/25/8)
1 pound chicken breasts (400/0/4/96)
1 cup whole milk + 2 scoops whey (330/16/8/48)
Fage greek yogurt + 2 scoops whey protein (270/11/0/55)
Whey Shake (160/2/3/30)
Almonds (380/4/32/10)
Totals: 2990 calories. 74g carbs, 147g fat, 332g protein.
– Up and at’em early today, which means good eggs as a great start to the day. Costco sells eggs in a 90 pack (that’s 7.5 dozens), and at this rate I’ll be through them in just 2 weeks. By myself. That’s a little crazy. Still, even with that start, I didn’t make it to my targets. The reason:

Tomorrow, I am going to do my best. (That’s always the plan.)

JT: “I’ll take 4 cheeseburgers. No buns.”
Kid: “Wat?”

I’ve gotten used to this. A few minutes later, I’m happily nomming away on a pound of meat. It’s a blazing hot day, though, and there’s one more question I’ve got to ask. So I stroll back up to the counter…

Kid: Can I help you?
JT: What would I do for a Klondike Bar?
Kid: I dunno. What would you do?
JT: That’s a dangerous question.
Kid: How about 25 jumping jacks?
JT: How about Burpees instead?
Kid: What’s a Burpee?
JT: (demonstrates)
Kid: Yeah, I’d give you a Klondike bar for that.
JT: SOLD!
(…10 burpees later, a crowd forms…)
Kids 2-20 to Kid: You’re making him do that?
Kid to Kids 2-20: I’m not making him, I just asked him what he’d do for a Klondike Bar!
(…25 burpees later…)
Kid: Here you go man. *hands me two Klondike bars*
JT: You, sir, are a prince.
*round of applause from every kid working at Crane Beach on the holiday weekend*

This is another example of good things coming from talking to strangers. And from Burpees.

What would YOU do?

No, ice cream isn’t really part of the strict paleo. It’s definitely the “dirtiest” thing I eat, I think. It’s got sugar in it, and nothing else really does. Still, I’m okay with it. I’m indulging. This phase of the experiment is about eating Big and (mostly) clean paleo with dairy added, and seeing what happens. If it’s hampering my progress a little, I’m okay – we’ll see that at the two week mark and make an adjustment.

Experiment Progress Update: I’ve been eating big now for just over a week. In the first week, I gained 7 pounds. Wait, what? My goal was 10 pounds in a month! I guess I’ll make it there. I have been sticking to the regular CrossFit Fenway programming, working out with you guys in the regular classes. The only additional training I’m doing right now is a small set of homework: 1 set of 20 squats, done every other day. Those squats started at 65% of my 1 Rep Max, and I’m trying to move them up 5 pounds every set. It’s not extensive homework (I think Haley has the biggest load of homework assignments) and so it only takes me about 10-15 minutes to warm up, get ready, stop goofing around, and get the darn squats done. This experiment will see if that very basic extra strength loading, plus the regular CF Fenway protocol, plus a heavy (and clean) caloric burden, will increase strength and lean mass.

Of course, I’m not going to stop this experiment before the month is over unless something goes way off the rails, but for right now I’ll keep an eye on the amount of weight I’m gaining. I’ll take another body fat reading at the halfway point next Wednesday, and check on my body composition. In the meantime, as long as I’m not feeling ill and my strength continues to improve, I’m going to see just what results this kind of caloric load produces. If I overshoot the weight goal, okay – I’m more focused on getting good data than on any given end-product in my body at this point.

Once I’ve got good data from a lot of experiments, I’ll have the knowledge and tools to use to create precisely the results I’m looking for. I’ll also have the self-knowledge and inner strength to know that I am capable of applying those tools and techniques (diet and exercise) in a disciplined and consistent way that will produce those results.

Here’s to making hard choices. Cheers!

Saturday, July 3rd

Kefir (110/9/3/11)
2 scoops whey protein (180/4/0/40)
Almond Butter (195/2/16/7)
6 eggs (420/6/27/36)
Cheese (110/1/9/6)
Fage-0%-fat Greek Yogurt (90/7/0/15)
2 Scoops Whey Protein (180/4/0/40)
12 oz NY Strip Steak (600/0/14/90)
1 cup kefir + 2 scoops whey protein (290/13/3/51)
ice cream… glorious ice cream (150/14/10/2)
1 cup whole milk (150/12/8/8)
2-4oz filet mignons, bacon wrapped (440/0/30/44)
fage greek yogurt + 1 scoop chocolate whey protein (135/5/0/27)
ice cream (150/14/10/2)
1 cup whole milk (150/12/8/8)
2 scoops whey protein (180/4/0/40)
Totals: 3530 calories. 107g Carbs, 128g fats, 427g Protein.
– You may notice that I have almost entirely dropped vegetables from my diet. I know this isn’t desirable. However, veggies take TIME, and I am just about out of it. I am going to make a concerted effort next week to get more veggies in there – but for now, it feels like all this dairy (about half my calories, at least) is the only thing keeping me going. Wild weird world.

Sunday, July 4th

6 eggs (420/6/27/36)
2 chicken sausages (300/2/18/30)
kefir + 2 scoops (290/13/3/51)
4 burgers + Cheese (1040/4/66/92)
Klondike Bar (250/29/14/3)
kefir + 2 scoops (290/13/3/51)
whole milk + 1 scoop whey (240/14/8/28)
Almond Butter (195/2/16/7)
Chicken Breast (280/0/6/53)
Chocolate Milk (mmm, tasty gourmet organic dessert) (240/33/7/10)
2 glasses red wine (250/0/0/0)
Totals: 3795 calories. 116g carbs, 168g fat, 361g protein.

Monday, July 5th

6 eggs (420/6/27/36)
chicken sausage (130/2/5/22)
Fage greek yogurt + 2 scoops whey protein (270/11/0/55)
Cheese (110/1/9/6)
Kefir + 2 scoops whey (290/13/3/51)
12 oz steak (600/0/21/90)
Goat Milk Ice Cream (fuck yeah) (140/18/6/5)
24 oz Bay Scallops (600/12/0/68)
Fage + 2 scoops (270/11/0/55)
Kefir + 2 scoops whey (290/13/3/51)
Totals: 3130 calories. 87g carbs, 74g fats, 439g Protein
– Not so bad! I’m definitely leaning on the dairy for carbs, and not consuming enough vegetables. And by “enough”, I mean “any”. I’ll look into fixing this.

Tuesday, July 6th

Kefir + 2 scoops whey (290/13/3/51)
Ham pack (500/0/20/90)
2 pounds Shrimp (770/0/0/119)
Sauce (40/8/0/0)
Chicken Breast (280/0/6/53)
Salad (80/2/4/2)
2 Meatballs (320/6/24/20)
Almonds (190/2/16/5)
whey shake (160/2/3/30)
ice cream (140/18/6/5)
Kefir + 2 scoops whey (290/13/3/51)
Whole milk + 2 scoops whey (330/16/8/48)
ice cream (180/20/8/5)
Larabar (210/25/13/3)
Totals: 3780 calories. 125g carbs, 114g fats, 482g Protein
– Damn! Overshot the protein, overshot on carbs, undershot calories. I’m not that worried about the carbs, and when I’m eating protein by the 2-pound-shrimp-bag, I’m bound to go over sometimes… but I need more fats. Good fats. This will become a trend, I suspect.

Wednesday, July 5th

4 whey shakes (640/8/12/120)
Kefir + 2 scoops whey (290/13/3/51)
2 pounds Shrimp (770/0/0/119)
Cocktail Sauce (40/10/0/0)
10oz NY Strip Sirloin (500/0/23/75)
6oz Steak (300/0/15/45)
Salad (140/2/6/14)
Broccoli (75/6/0/9)
Whole milk + 2 scoops whey (330/16/8/48)
ice cream (140/18/6/5)
Totals: 3225 calories. 73g carbs, 73g fats, 486g Protein
– I’m so used to eating lean that I’m not getting enough fats. I know how to fix that… NUTS. Lots of them. I’ll give that a try tomorrow.

Thursday, July 5th

2 shakes (320/4/6/60)
2 cups whole Milk (300/24/16/16)
4 scoops whey protein (370/8/0/80)
Panera Bread: Chicken Caesar (no dressing) and Broccoli Cheddar soup: (470/18/22/42)
Almonds (570/6/48/15)
Sunflower Seeds (170/2/15/6)
Pumpkin Seeds (280/4/22/15)
Whey shake (230/9/11/22)
Pistachios (340/12/26/12)
Porterhouse Steak (720/0/50/88)
Broccoli & Asparagus (90/6/0/9)
2 glasses red wine (250/0/0/0)
Almonds (380/4/32/10)
Totals: 4550 calories. 97g carbs, 248g fats, 375g Protein
– Finally starting to get my protein in the morning spread out when I’m coaching. That’s a relief. Also, finally got all the calories I’m supposed to get in a day! Thanks to eating piles of nuts. Is that really what it takes? Sheesh. I’ll keep trying.

Of course, it’s noon Friday already and I’ve only had 600 calories. Gotta go catch up! See you again soon.

I find myself thinking this as I choke down a 12 ounce steak tonight fresh off the grill. This is the chaser for a day full of food. I do the math at the end of the day… and I’m not yet at my calorie goals. Protein’s fine, but once again I’m coming up short on calories. How am I ever going to gain 10 pounds this way?

Now, I could easily gain 10 pounds eating whatever I wanted. Pizzas, multiple, followed by an order of fried chicken fingers and a bucket of ice cream, and cake. This, I can do. I’d chase it all down with a Diet Coke, too. I’d add 10 pounds in no time flat… and that’s not the only goal.

No, I’m looking to “eat clean” and gain 10 of the leanest pounds I possibly can. That means training hard, lifting heavy, pushing to failure, sleeping well, and above all not bombing my metabolism with undue carbs and sugars. These are hard things to do, but I’m working on finding ways to get there. For example, tonight I may curl up with a bad movie and a jar of almond butter before an early bedtime. That’s thrilling, I know; given that I’ve been traveling for the past month non-stop, it sounds pretty good to me. (Heck, I gave up my ticket to go frolic in the Vermont woods with a few hundred friends to stick around Boston this weekend.)

SRS BZNS BABY has a simple message.

Why stay here instead of going frolicking this weekend? First off, there’s lots to be done around the facility to keep making sure CrossFit Fenway is the best possible place for YOU, and you’ll see that we keep dressing the place up and staying ahead of the curve. Second, I’m dedicated to taking care of me – so that I can take better care of you – and sticking to my own training goals. That means getting good sleep and really dialing in this new diet plan, remembering to focus on SRS BZNS. Let’s take a look at how I’ve been doing the past few days, shall we?

Thursday, July 1

2 eggs (200/1/15/13)
2 scoops whey protein (180/4/0/40)
3 cups whole milk (450/36/24/24)
2 scoops whey protein (180/4/0/40)
3 cups whole milk (450/36/24/24)
12 oz Bison (360/0/5/74)
3 servings Almonds (510/6/45/18)
6oz Baked Salmon (310/0/14/42)
Mahi Mahi burger (120/0/5/18)
Salad (20/2/0/2)
2 glasses wine (250/0/0/0)
Totals: 3030 calories. 89g carbs, 132g fats, 295g protein
– Not enough calories, not enough protein. My targets are 100g more protein and 1070 more calories. Gotta eat bigger and start earlier. Maybe a ton more eggs in the morning would help me here.

Friday, July 2

2 eggs (200/1/15/13)
greek yogurt (140/9/0/23)
3 scoops whey protein (280/6/1/60)
ham steak (210/3/8/30)
2 cups whole milk (300/24/16/16)
2 scoops whey protein (180/4/0/40)
2 pounds cooked shrimp (770/0/0/119)
sauce (70/18/0/0)
kefir (110/9/3/11)
2 scoops whey protein (180/4/0/40)
12 oz steak (600/0/21/90)
2 servings Almonds (340/4/30/12)
ice cream (150/14/10/2)
2 servings almond butter (390/4/32/14)
Totals: 3720 calories. 120g carbs, 100g fats, 457g protein
– Still not enough cals, but closer. And I’m full beyond belief. Done for tonight, hope I can walk tomorrow! I’ll see you at the Invasion, bright and early!

First, I took a break. This past weekend I was in Baltimore (third wedding in three weekends) and decided that I would celebrate the successful end of my first 2 experiment phases. Maybe it was the euphoric high of finally having dairy again after so long, but I went hog wild. I stopped counting all my food. I ate paleoish by avoiding grains and soy entirely still, but eating all the dairy and sugar that I wanted. That meant I ate chocolate. And cheesecake filling. And cheese, lots and lots of cheese. And cake frosting. And milk. And ice cream. And more milk. It was good, good, good.

But now I’m back from traveling, and back on a mission to get Big And Strong.

Now, let’s be clear: I’d be fine with just getting strong without getting big. It’s hard for me to countenance gaining weight after all I’ve done to lose weight in the past. But that said, I want to make big improvements on my strength, and every strength coach from Rippetoe down the line says you gotta drink your milk and eat big to lift heavier. So, I’m going to try that approach and see what happens.

I do not have a personal dream to be lifting a volkswagen at the expense of being back in pants with a 44 inch waist. I do however feel like this experience will leave me more likely to be able to counsel well the client who has a goal of getting “Big And Strong”. This experiment is going to determine how effective a relatively lean, paleo-quality diet is at adding lean muscle mass quickly, when combined with our standard CrossFit Fenway training regimen.

So what is the new protocol, you ask? Let’s do it the scientific way: let’s use math.

My average intake numbers from Phase 2 showed that I consumed 2350 cals, 300g protein, and 40g carbs daily. Now, on that regimen, I lost 4# of fat in a month. At 3500 cals/pound, that’s 14,000 calories deficit; 500 cals per day under budget. That means my “maintenance” energy need, including exercise consumption, was 2850 calories per day.

So how much do I have to eat to gain mass?

My goal is to add 10 pounds in 28 days. A pound of muscle contains a lot of lean meat and not much fat, so it doesn’t hold as many calories. Still, to repair/bulk/build that muscle takes a lot of energy, so we’ll stick with the 3500 cals per pound rule of thumb to account for fat and muscle gained. That means I need to add 35,000 supplemental calories above my maintenance level over the next month in order to put on 10 pounds.

35,000 cals in 28 days = 1250 extra cals per day
2850 maintenance + 1250 extra = 4100 target calories per day

In order to hit my goals, I’ll need to eat 4100 calories per day. Now, I can’t imagine eating enough lean meats and broccoli to get there, so I’m going to add dairy back into my diet. That, and I love dairy. Really, really love it.

In addition, I want to increase the protein available for building muscle mass as I bulk. Since I averaged 300g a day in Phase 2 and exactly preserved my lean body mass, it makes sense that I’ll need more protein for muscle synthesis. Let’s aim for 400g protein daily.

Finally, I’ll be keeping the carbs relatively low. I stayed under 50g per day in Phase 2. I’m nearly doubling calories, so let’s keep it to less than 100g carbs daily, shall we?

A few final variations: I know that some flavorings may sneak in. I’m not going to be a dogmatic prick about this paleo. I’m going to eat very clean and high quality, but I won’t cry if I have some sugar (ice cream) or some incidental soy sneak in through “flavorings”. Likewise, I am aware that GNC’s Wheybolic Extreme 60 protein powder does, in fact, include some artificial sweeteners. At the moment, I’m inclined to let that slide as well.

If I feel terrible in a week, I’ll revisit it. For now, though, that’s my formula for how to gain 10 pounds in a month. I’ll post my food logs here as usual, and keep you updated on my training schedule and strength gains. At least, I sure hope I see strength gains…

Wednesday, 6/30/10

2 eggs (200/1/15/13)
greek yogurt (chobani 0%) (90/6/0/16)
2 scoops wheybolic protein (180/4/0/40)
whole organic milk (150/11/8/8)
2 scoops wheybolic protein (180/4/0/40)
trail mix (140/18/8/3)
2 pound steak, grass fed beef (1600/0/72/240)
ice cream (220/24/13/2)
yogurt+protein powder (135/5/0/28)
milk (150/12/8/8)
sunflower butter (220/3/20/6)
ice cream (250/29/13/4)
Totals: 3515 calories, 117g carbs, 157g fat, 408g protein

– My first day eating big, and I couldn’t quite eat big enough. I guess this is going to take some getting used to. Tomorrow, I’ll start earlier and start making a plan to get there. Being “too busy” is no excuse for not eating enough. I’d also like to keep the carbs lower – so more lean proteins and leafy vegetables would probably help on that front too.

Time to load up on broccoli.