Today’s WOD:
Clean deadlift to position 5×3 @ 105% max clean
then
Clean from the floor up to a heavy single
then
Max rep pull-ups x3
– Food is our fuel and it makes us go. We’re going to launch into a section on nutrition as it forms the base for everything we do in life (including CrossFit). Keep an open mind about this stuff and feel free to question/discuss anything and everything that is posted (I’m certainly no expert). It’s complicated and we just want to get you thinking about what’s going into your body and how it affects you. CrossFit does endorse a particular diet, but we’ll get to that in the upcoming days.
We’re going to start with the government approved food pyramid (further information can be found here). There are basically 5 major food groups that are USDA approved: grains, vegetables, fruits, milk, and meat & beans. For the average American on a 2,000 calorie/day diet (this value will vary based on your size and activity level), you should take in 6 oz. of grains, 2.5 cups of veggies, 2 cups of fruit, 3 cups of milk, and 5.5 oz. of meat. Simple enough, right?
Now, you all CrossFit with us and you are certainly anything but average. If anything, you are exemplary humans, and we expect a lot from you. In most cases, your caloric intake is going to be more than the recommended amount because you exercise more than the average American, this is especially true for those of you that are students (more brain food, please). Now, if you were to eat what is USDA recommended, you would be doing alright (probably better than average). But we don’t just want you to be just “alright”, we want you to be fine-tuned machines (this requires high octane fuel)! We’ll be going over some ways to improve your diet, which in turn, will improve your CrossFit and hopefully, your quality of life.
One thing that I absolutely want you to take away from this first post is that nowhere on this pyramid do you see foods or drinks loaded with sugar. That means the cookies, sodas, ice creams, candies, etc. Think about how many food items you take in on a daily basis that have processed sugar or high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in them. Do you think you could replace some of those snacks with some fruit, nuts, or other types of healthy snacks (read: natural)? For now, just start thinking about what you’re putting into your body so that we can try to make some sense of it all. We’ll try not to get too science-y, but it’s a complicated puzzle we’re putting together and science may be all that can save us!