Friday 090403

Workout

For time:
"Mini" MetCon
3x
400M Run/500M Row
20 - 24 Inch Box Jumps

REST

Press
Find a NEW 1RM

Compare to:
TITANFIT: Saturday 090307

Thursday 090402

Workout
10x
5 - 135 lbs Power Clean
10 - Push-Ups
15 - Squats

Yes it is "Cindy" with Power Cleans versus Pull-Ups...The above workout was augmented from the CrossFit Football site (http://www.crossfitfootball.com/index.php). Theirs called for 6 rounds of 3, 6, 9. Yesterday we did 5 rounds of 5, 10, 10 and it took (on average) 5:00. I see this as a 15:00 or so workout.

Wednesday 090401

REST!

Recently, we found the following...

Your Health: Can games like 'Wii Fit' really work it?

By Kim Painter, USA TODAY

Are Wii fit yet? As a nation, we definitely are not in good shape. But 10 months after the launch of Nintendo's Wii Fit— the first hit video game marketed as an exercise tool — there are signs that, with the help of gaming systems, some of us might be making progress.
In January and February, Wii Fit was the best-selling video game in the USA and had sold more than 6 million units, says market researcher NPD Group.

Think about it: A game that teaches yoga poses and calisthenics is outselling games that teach warfare and auto theft. Marketers have noticed. More "exergames" are in stores or on the way: The latest, Gold's Gym Cardio Workout (from Ubisoft, for Wii consoles), goes on sale Tuesday.

Fitness experts have noticed, too. Though no one says exergames will solve the nation's obesity problem, many hope they will produce real benefits.

"Some exercise is better than none," and "none" is what many people get, says Cedric Bryant, chief science officer of the American Council on Exercise.

People who use exergames certainly move. In Wii Fit, users are invited to try yoga, strength exercises, aerobic activities and balance games while stepping and gyrating on a movement-sensitive board and following an on-screen trainer. The game tells users they are toning their bodies, improving posture and balance and burning calories.

But how much good does it do?

The exercise council is conducting a study to find out. So are researchers at the University of Mississippi. They are lending the game to eight families for three months and recording the results, says Scott Owens, an associate professor of health and exercise science.

"I think that for people who have been inactive, there's a good chance they can see improvements," Owens says. And the game may inspire some to join real yoga classes or jog outside, Bryant adds.

Even hard-core athletes may find some use for such games, says Sue Stanley-Green, a professor of athletic training at Florida Southern College in Lakeland. She is trying Wii Fit as a rehabilitation tool for athletes who are recovering from surgery or injury.

More fitness games on the way

Of course, any exercise program can cause injury. Exergames are no exception, experts say. They also worry that people will substitute light game workouts (such as the three-minute hula-hoop sessions on Wii Fit) for more rigorous activities (such as brisk 30-minute, real-world walks). And they say an ideal exergame would offer more useful feedback than Wii Fit, and some early imitators do.

But games that are more demanding, more interactive or both are on the way or already available, says Stephen Yang, assistant professor of physical education at the State University of New York-Cortland. For addictive, calorie-burning fun, Yang recommends Eye Toy Kinetic (for PlayStation2), a workout game that points a camera at the user to track movements and provide instant feedback.

He also likes tween favorite Dance Dance Revolution (for various game systems), which is not marketed as an exercise game but fits the bill. And he directs parents to Gamercize, a British import that connects to any video game system — and keeps it running only as long as the user keeps moving on a mini-bike or step machine.

The future will bring games that track heart rates and keep exercisers working at a challenging but safe pace, he says. Virtual group workouts, with participants connected online to a live coach, will happen, too, he says.

But the games that work best, Yang says, will be the ones that are the most fun.

Tuesday 090331

Due to Spring Break, TitanFit Kids class is Canceled today.

Workout

"Nicole"
400M Run
Max rep Pull-ups

OR

500M Row
Max BWT Bench Press

As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes. Note the number of pull-ups or Bench Press completed for each round.


Compare to:
TITANFIT: Thursday 080515

Monday 090330

Today's workout is from the fine folks of Performance Menu (http://www.performancemenu.com/index.php)

Workout

Power snatch - 70% x 2 x 4
Power clean & push jerk - 70% x 2 x 4

Mini MetCon
For time:
500 m row
15 box jumps
400 m row
10 box jumps
300 m row
5 box jumps

THANK YOU SHARON

TitanFit Family...Let us give a big Thank You to Sharon. Saturday, she gussied up our little gym. Come in and see her work! If you like it (and I am sure you will), make sure you give her an atta'girl!

Can you believe it has been nearly 4 months?! Those that do not do this Sunday, we will hit it during the week!

Workout
"Fight Gone Bad" - AKA FGB

Three rounds of 1:00 of effort for:
Wall-ball, 20 pound ball, 8 ft target (Reps)
Sumo Dead lift high-pull, 75 pounds (Reps)
Box Jump, 20" box (Reps)
Push-press, 75 pounds (Reps)
Row (Calories)

Compare to:
TITANFIT: Wednesday 081231

Saturday 090327

Workout
for time:

10 rounds of
10 Pull-ups
10 Ring dips

Friday 090327

Workout
5 sets of for time of:
15 - 95 lbs Thrusters
15 - 95 lbs SDHP

Compare to:
TITANFIT: Sunday 080713

Thursday 090326

Workout

Clean and Jerk:
Work up to 80% x1, 70% x1, 83% x1, 73% x1, 85% x1, 75% x1, 88% x1, 75% x1

Compare to:
TITANFIT: Sunday 090301

Wednesday 090325

REST!

Remember we are CLOSED today. Enjoy your day off!

Tuesday 090324

Remember it is TitanFit Kids today. Kids and Parents ONLY from 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm.

Workout
"Dave"

For time
21, 18, 15, 12, 9, 6, and 3 reps of:
Kettlebell Swing (M-53 lbs/F-35 lbs)
Ab-Mat Sit-ups
Box Jumps (20 inches)
Push-ups (want to make it a little harder?...make those Ring Push-ups!)

Compare to:
TITANFIT: Friday 090130

For those that recently did Swings and or Box Jumps, I see KAREN in your future. For the rest of us, Karen is Thursday's workout.

Monday 090323

Workout
"Lynne"
5x max reps of:
Body weight bench press
Pull-ups

Compare to:
TITANFIT: Thursday 090108

For Lynne as rx'd, each "round" is 5 minutes long.

Start your BP on the minute, complete as many as possible without racking the weight. Once you have completed the BP, start your Pull-ups. Complete as many Pull-ups as possible (your set is complete once you release the bar). Now rest for what remains of the original 5 minutes (e.g. if it takes you 2 minutes to BP and do the Pull-ups, rest 3 minutes). Repeat 4 more time. Got it? (As an aside...do the exercise that you are weakest in first. E.g. for me, that of course means I do pull-ups before bench pressing)

Post reps for both exercises in all rounds

Sunday 090322

Workout

For time:

50 - Air Squats

50 - Jump Pull-ups

50 - 35 lbs KB Swings

50 - AbMat Sit-ups

50 - Burpees (Yea Burpees!)

After doing the 30 Day LockDown, I KNOW the following to be true. I found the URL on msn.com. here's the URL... I have also pasted the info below.

http://health.msn.com/nutrition/slideshow.aspx?cp-documentid=100234866&GT1=31037

America's Portion Distortion
8 foods you're likely over-indulging in without realizing it.

America's Portion Distortion
By Coeli Carr for MSN Health & Fitness

When you pile food on your plate, do you have any idea how many calories you've signed up for? Do you calculate the recommended serving size by checking out the label or back-of-box nutrient information? Or do you tend to guess?

The recommended serving sizes of certain mainstays on the family menu are often much smaller than you think, so it's easy to become oblivious to the amount of food you and your loved ones are eating. Here are eight foods with suggested serving sizes that may surprise you—plus some health consequences of such portion distortion.

Pizza

Do the math: Even the most disciplined eaters have difficulty keeping their pizza intake to one slice. But even one slice of cheese pizza may be a dietary liability. Each contains about 12 fat grams and approximately 300 calories—or more, depending on the amount and types of cheese, and the size of the slice. Cheese has a fair amount of saturated fat, which is unhealthy for the heart, says Joan Salge Blake, M.S., R.D., a clinical associate professor of nutrition at Boston University and author of the college textbook Nutrition & You (Benjamin Cummings, 2007). And, she adds, many people just nibble off the cheese and sauce and leave the crusts, so they feel less full. "It's the equivalent of eating a cheese meal," says Blake.

The fix: Have a salad before you start eating the pizza, suggests Blake, who cites research showing that eating a salad with light dressing before a meal may help you reduce the calories of the main part of your meal by about 10 percent. And, if you're eating out, she recommends you finish your salad—which probably will have helped sate your hunger—before placing your pizza order. You may then find that one slice, ideally topped with vegetables, is all you need. Making pizza at home, preferably with whole-grain dough and a generous amount of oven-roasted veggies to add flavor, is the best way to keep calories and fat low. Blake recommends you top it with a minimal amount of reduced-fat mozzarella or other cheese.

America's Portion Distortion
Salad dressing

Do the math: One of our favorite types of salad dressing is the blue cheese variety. Unfortunately, the typical serving size of two tablespoons of this dressing—which many people might consider minuscule—contains 16 fat grams, says Carol Byrd-Bredbenner, Ph.D., R.D., a professor of nutrition at Rutgers University. In other words, she says, 94 percent of the calories from this dressing are from fat.

"High fat intake is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and obesity," she says. "This raises blood lipid levels, and fat can be deposited into arteries over time."

The fix: The ideal, says Byrd-Bredbenner, is to stick with low-fat dressings. However, if you're crazy about the blue cheese variety, you can combine low-fat and full-fat varieties together. Better yet, she says, is to make your own blue cheese dressing, using a very minimal amount of the high-fat ingredients. "Aim simply for flavor and not pieces of cheese," she says.

America's Portion Distortion
Ice cream

Do the math: The standard serving size for ice cream is half a cup. But, Blake asks, how many people actually get four portions out of a pint, or 16 servings out of a half-gallon container? The danger, she says, is how quickly the calories add up. A half-cup serving of chocolate ice cream contains about 150 calories, she says. And, she notes, choosing a reduced-fat ice cream doesn't always solve the problem. "Because it's 'light,' people think they can eat more of it, and they often do," she says. "Even though the fat is reduced, the ice cream will still contain a fair amount of calories, so over time, you put yourself at risk for obesity."

With ice cream, the eye is easily fooled, she says. A study published in 2006 revealed that the participants who had chosen larger bowls unwittingly served themselves one-third more ice cream. People using larger serving spoons also dished out more of the sweet treat.

The fix: To help keep portions in check, buy an ice cream scoop, says Blake, or a small cup that will allow you to keep its contents to half a cup. Another trick, she suggests, is to fill an 8-ounce cup—a recycled yogurt container will do—halfway with ice cream, and then top it off with fresh fruit, such as low-calorie berries. And use common sense: "Don't use the ice cream container as your bowl," she says.

America's Portion Distortion
Orange juice

Do the math: Orange juice is one breakfast staple just about everyone can agree on. But, Blake says, many people tend to consume too much because it's perceived as a healthy drink full of vitamins and phytonutrients. While it's high in vitamin C, a typical eight-ounce serving contains about 112 calories, which can add up over time. And a recent study conducted at Rutgers University noted that a typical portion of orange juice has increased by 40 percent compared to 20 years ago.

Better to keep your OJ intake to one cup daily, and satisfy your fruit intake the rest of the time with whole fruit, including fresh, frozen or canned, says Blake. Whole fruit contains fiber, which makes for a more satisfying and filling snack, she says.

The fix: "Don't guzzle out of the container!" advises Blake, who suggests pouring a small amount of juice—an ounce or two at a time—into water or sparkling water, which you can then sip slowly.

America's Portion Distortion
Soft drinks

Do the math: The typical eight-ounce serving of soft drink, such as cola, contains 95 calories and 24 grams of sugar, says Byrd-Bredbenner. But who guzzles just one cup?

Fast-food establishments regularly dispense 64-ounce containers filled with these beverages. But even a 32-ounce serving adds up to 96 sugar grams, which can significantly promote weight gain if consumed regularly. "Increased weight gain increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and certain types of cancer," she says, noting that tooth decay is another possible consequence.

The fix: "Drink water. It's calorie free!" says Byrd-Bredbenner. If you prefer your beverages flavored, you have healthful and tasty options. Add lemon juice, or a little fruit juice, such as pomegranate, to regular or sparkling water, she says. Or try naturally flavored waters (read the label and avoid those with sugar, corn syrup or other sweeteners; experts say many commercially available flavored waters are high in empty calories). Buying diet soda, or diluting soft drinks with sparkling water, are other options.

If you don't want to give up high-caloric soft drinks, buy smaller containers, or, if you're at home or in your office, try pouring it into eight-ounce cups. Here's a handy do-it-yourself tip for a 64-ounce bottle: Mark the bottle with a marker so that you've indicated eight equal portions so you can tell when you've poured out a full serving.

America's Portion Distortion
White rice

Do the math: Go to a restaurant, and you're likely to receive a mound of white rice that's the equivalent of between two or three cups. Without question, people tend to eat all the white rice they've given, even if it's triple the amount they should be eating, says Connie Diekman, M.Ed., R.D., who counsels and oversees the nutritional needs of students at Washington University in St. Louis. A half-cup serving of white rice contains about 15 carbohydrate grams. Two cups boosts that to 60 grams. "Carbohydrates, whether ingested as fruits, vegetables, grains or table sugar, all end up in the body as glucose," says Diekman. "If you take in more sugar than is necessary to support bodily activities, those carbs wind up as stored fat." White rice's low fiber content—a result of removing the outer layers—is at least partly to blame. Food that's missing the healthful and filling fiber tends not to satisfy, she says.

The fix: Choose rice with veggies, suggests Diekman. She suggests starting with one cup of rice—visualize a portion the size of a baseball—and piling on either steamed, sautéed or microwaved vegetables. Experiment with flavors by adding small amounts of sauces. Then work your way to a half-cup portion of white rice no larger than half a baseball. If you're a person who likes to see the rice unmixed with other ingredients, add some color to your plate, says Diekman. "Color improves the eating experience."

America's Portion Distortion
Potato chips

Do the math: Those tiny 1-ounce bags that fit into the palm of your hand usually don't satisfy most chip lovers. But that handful still contains 168 milligrams of sodium, which represents 11 percent to 14 percent of the adequate intake of between 1,200 and 1,500 milligrams for adults, says Byrd-Bredbenner. But beware when eating from a larger size bag. A 6-ounce bag—which is easy to finish off in one sitting—increases your sodium total to more than 1,000 milligrams. And, in moments of weakness, who hasn't grabbed even a larger-sized bag? *

"About 10 percent of the population is sodium sensitive, which means you can increase your blood pressure if you increase your sodium intake," she says, noting that high blood pressure is a risk for cardiovascular disease.

The fix: Byrd-Bredbenner suggests buying unsalted chips. You can use herbs to flavor the chips, or sprinkle a minimal amount of salt on them, or use a combination of both strategies, she says. She advises checking the label on the back of the herb products you use to make sure there's no added sodium. And, she adds, because 60 percent of calories in regular chips are from fat, it's best to buy baked chips.

For portion control, potato chip fans can divide chips from large bags into more manageable, smaller bags. Or designate a bowl specifically for chips that, when filled to the brim, holds an appropriate number of chips.

America's Portion Distortion
Burgers

Do the math: If the burgers you love to eat spill out over the bun, chances are the patty's too big. The dietary guideline for daily total cooked protein intake for adults is between 5 to 7 ounces, says Diekman. And, she says, even though meat shrinks during cooking, a very large burger could easily fulfill one's suggested daily total protein allotment. Fat intake is another concern—a 4-ounce cooked burger can contain as many as 20 grams, up to half of that saturated.
Use a deck of cards to visually gauge 3 ounces of cooked meat.

Diekman cites a study that looked at college students' perceptions of healthy portion sizes. Many people have either lost or never had the ability to make those assessments, she says, adding, "We eat out so frequently, that we now tend to eat larger-than-good-for-you restaurant portions at home."

The fix: If you're eating out, says Diekman, ask for a small patty, and request them broiled so the fat drips away. If small sizes are not possible, cut the burger into two portions as soon at it arrives at the table, and put one into a take-out container. Eating either soup or a salad before tackling your burger will help you feel satisfied with less meat, she says.

If you're cooking at home, choose ground beef that's more than 80 percent lean, she says, and add different ingredients—oatmeal (instead of bread crumbs), grated carrots, or fresh herbs, such as parsley or coriander—to a smaller amount of meat. Visualizing half a baseball is another way to measure about 4 ounces of meat, says Diekman.

URL: http://health.msn.com/nutrition/slideshow.aspx?cp-documentid=100234866

Saturday 090321

Workout

Snatch - 80% of 1RM x1 x3
Clean & Jerk - 80% of 1RM x1 x3

THEN
"Mini" MetCon

3 rounds for time of:
333M Row
10 - Push Press @ 65% of Body Weight

Friday 090320

REST!



‘Our bodies are not that well-designed for the world we have created,’ said anthropology professor Daniel Lieberman. He illustrated it with this drawing.
Kris Snibbe/Harvard News Office

Culture skews human evolution
Lieberman expounds on ‘dysevolution’
By Alvin Powell

Harvard News Office

The rise of agriculture 10,000 years ago meant the end of the hunter-gatherer lifestyle for which human beings had been optimized by millions of years of evolution and the beginning of an era where culture encourages habits unhealthy for us and for the world around, with uncertain evolutionary outcomes.

“Our bodies are not that well-designed for the world we have created,” said anthropology professor Daniel Lieberman.

Lieberman spoke Thursday (March 5) in the third of the Harvard Museum of Natural History’s (HMNH) “Evolution Matters” lecture series. His talk, called “Survival of the Fleetest, Smartest or Fattest?” reviewed the evolutionary trends that led to modern humans and discussed the cultural reasons for some of today’s major health ills, such as obesity and diabetes.

Lieberman, who was introduced by HMNH Executive Director Elisabeth Werby, said the four most significant events in human history were our separation from apes; the evolutionary development of the genus Homo, shared by modern humans, Neanderthals, and Homo erectus; and the separation of our species, Homo sapiens, from our common ancestor with other Homo species.

The final event, Lieberman said, was a cultural one, not an evolutionary one. The beginnings of agriculture 10,000 years ago created lasting change that led to modern society and our modern way of life.

Farming culture allowed human women to give birth more frequently, spurring population growth. It also led to the spread of disease, as humans were in close contact with a variety of animal species, such as chickens, pigs, and cows, providing an environment in which animal viruses could pass into humans. It also led to the protection of people who physically might not survive in a hunter-gatherer society, and the rise of conditions and ailments such as myopia and diabetes.

The result, Lieberman said, is a cultural buffering of evolution’s harsh rule of “survival of the fittest” that may be leading to the “dysevolution” of Homo sapiens.

Though scientific opinion varies on whether evolution is still acting on humans, Lieberman said it probably is, pointing to relatively recent developments of lactose tolerance in adults — allowing them to consume dairy products long after weaning — and of pale skins in those from northern climates.

To understand the roots of “dysevolution,” one must understand where humans came from, Lieberman said. Descended from a common ancestor with chimpanzees between 6 million and 8 million years ago, early primitive humans like Sahelanthropus and Ardipithecus were very chimplike but walked upright. Lieberman traced this adaptation to climate change, namely a planetary cooling that transformed large tracts of thick jungle to open woodlands where walking would be a more efficient form of locomotion than either the climbing or knuckle-walking at which chimps excel.

The next change, Lieberman said, was driven by an additional cooling, which led to further thinning of the forests and the rise of savannah. From these changes arose the genus Homo between 2 million and 3 million years ago. Early human ancestors evolved different adaptations to survive on the savannah, with an Australopithecus species becoming adapted to large amounts of low-quality food, as evidenced by their large teeth.

The Homo genus evolved a different way of life, adapting for high-quality, high-energy foods, and becoming good at running in the heat of the day to engage in “persistence hunting” to run down exhausted prey species.

The first Homo sapiens appeared about 200,000 years ago and may have evolved from Homo heidelbergensis, Lieberman said, and continued to invent new tools and technology, spreading out of Africa to Europe, Asia, and other parts of the world. We were smart, inventive, highly mobile endurance athletes who cooked our food to get more energy from it. We were also relatively fast breeders when compared with other apes, with a baby every three years.

These evolutionary solutions were successful, Lieberman said, but energy intensive. The problem today, Lieberman said, is that humanity’s “gas guzzling” strategies, which enabled them to survive on the African savannah and expand around the world, aren’t always helpful in an era with ready fast food, sugar-rich snacks, and steadily decreasing demand for physical exertion.

“Obviously, they stood us in good stead until the very recent past,” Lieberman said.

Since we can’t will ourselves to evolve so that we don’t crave high-energy foods, Lieberman said we should instead encourage our inner hunter-gatherer by requiring more physical activity of our kids in schools, raising gasoline taxes to discourage driving, outlawing fast food, and restricting access to elevators, escalators, and moving sidewalks to force us to walk more.

“We need to think more like Darwin and act more like hunter-gatherers,” Lieberman said.

Thursday 090319

Have I ever mentioned hating Front Squats...

Workout
Front Squats
85% of your 1RM x1, x2, x3, x3 sets
OR
80% of your 1RM x5 x5

Compare to:
TITANFIT: Tuesday 090217

Wednesday 090318

Workout
Power/Strength

Jerk:
Your choice, BTN, Rack, Push, Split
5 sets of 2 reps

Compare to:
TITANFIT: Monday 090223

Tuesday 090317

Don't forget it is TitanFit Kids today. Kids and Parents only from 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm!


Workout

For time:

"Nancy"
5x
400 Meter run
Overhead squat 95 lbsM / 65 lbsF - x 15 reps per round

Compare to:
TITANFIT: Tuesday 080408

Monday 090316

REST!

6 (+1) Hard Working Ladies

Sunday 090315

Today's warm-up will include Get-ups. Don't complain - at least you are not using your spouse as weight!




Workout
Hang Power Clean (HPCL)
1-1-1-1-1-1-1

Compare to:
TITANFIT: Wednesday 081126