CrossFit's Dirty Little Secret?

There has been a huge fuss lately about the downfalls of CrossFit.  The biggest of these is that CrossFit can literally kill you by giving you rhabdomyolysis.  This article has been circulating the blogs and Facebook and has been scaring the crap out of anyone who reads it - especially those who aren't familiar with rhabdo and CrossFit in general.  There was even a piece on the news about the dangers of rhabdo and CrossFit - I literally got phone calls after that asking me if I should really be doing this stuff.    

Yes.  I should be doing this stuff.  This stuff has saved my life.  

So... what is rhabdomyolysis?  Well... according to WebMD:

Rhabdomyolysis is a serious syndrome due to a direct or indirect muscle injury. It results from a breakdown of muscle fibers and release of their contents into the bloodstream. This can lead to complications such as kidney (renal) failure. This occurs when the kidneys cannot remove waste and concentrated urine. In rare cases, rhabdomyolysis can even cause death. 

 Basically... broken down muscles releasing potassium into your blood stream = bad.  

This is a legitimate thing to be concerned about.  Rhabdo is scary and can be incredibly dangerous - even deadly.  But here's the deal - most people can do CrossFit for their entire lives and never come close to contracting rhabdo.  I know I'm not a doctor (although one of my favorite people is a medical student and I feel much smarter just by looking at her fancy books) - and I'm definitely not trying to give medical advice.  Not in the least.  I'm not qualified for that. But I am qualified as a CrossFit coach.

Here's the deal.  Rhabdo is bad.  As coaches, it is our responsibility to let you know about the dangers of it.  When I first started CrossFit, I remember complaining about not being able to get out of bed because I hurt so badly.  My trainer told me to make sure that I didn't pee coke color - and that if I did to take myself immediately to the hospital.  Not going to lie... this was alarming as a CrossFit baby.  But she explained what rhabdo was and we very quickly and easily deduced that I didn't have rhabdo, but that I was just sore- you know, from lifting heavy weights and being active like I hadn't been in years.  CrossFit will make you sore.  Sometimes incredibly sore.  But just because your abs hurt for days after doing Barbara (not that I would know anything about that!) - doesn't mean you have rhabdo.  

As coaches, we do our best to make sure that you don't jump into a workout with 150% intensity until you are ready.  We make sure that you aren't forcing yourself to lift heavier than you are ready to.  We will scale workouts to your appropriate level.  We encourage you to push yourself but to only go as far as you can safely go.  We do what we can to keep you safe and healthy at the gym.  But we also need your help - we don't know what it feels like for you.  We can tell when you look fatigued, but we have no idea when you hit the point that something hurts (unless you make that awful 'I'm in pain' face).  Tell us.  Tell us what is going on with you and what hurts.  Help us to keep you safe and healthy at the gym.  We will do everything that we can to help you avoid injuries and rhabdo (we actually like seeing your sweaty selves at the gym and want you to come back!) but you've got to put the ego aside sometimes and ask for help.  I know it's tough - I'm a CrossFitter too.  It's tough for me to say 'I'm done - this hurts and it's not the normal hurt'.  

Try not to worry about rhabdo. It definitely happens, but it's rare.  Be smart.  Don't push yourself so ridiculously hard - you aren't Rich Froning.  Drink lots of water.  Eat healthy.  Listen to your coaches.  And if you are really concerned about rhabdo - educate yourself.  The CrossFit Journal has some great articles on it and can be a great resource.  It's one of the places that I go when I'm in need of more information.  They also have great links to outside articles and additional resources. 

CrossFit can be a huge benefit in your life.  It is for me.  It's kept me sane when my life was out of control. It's taught me how to have a healthy lifestyle.  It's been my therapy.  I've made great friends at the gym.  I've gotten more involved with my gym than I could possibly have imagined.  It's made me strong, it's made my body change and it's made me happier.  For me, the benefits FAR outweigh any of the perceived downfalls.  

Be smart.  Be safe.  CrossFit on. 

A CrossFit Newbie's Guide to All Things CrossFit

Or... 'What I Wish People Would Have Told Me When I Started CrossFit'.

I have been doing CrossFit for 471 days (yes.  I know the EXACT date I did my first workout.).  During these 471 days, I have learned a ton about myself, about CrossFit, about people, about life in general.  Let me share some of the more poignant landmarks and things that I wish people would have told me to expect when I first started.  

• Day -31.  A friend is going to tell you that you should do CrossFit.  You are going to laugh and say 'that stuff is nuts.'  But somehow, it sits in the back of your mind and after weeks of ruminating on it, you think, 'what the hell' and sign up for a free trial. 
• Day 1.  You are hooked. It sucks, it hurt and when can you sign up for essentials? 
• Day 2.  You reconsider when you are unable to get out of bed but you've already paid the essentials course fee.  Muscles hurt that you didn't realize you had.  Sitting down and standing up becomes a process. 
• First real class post-essentials.  Terrified.  Absolutely terrified.  These people are strong.  These people are fast.  You go at the pace of snail holding 10 lbs but you do it.  Victory!
• One month into classes.  Everything hurts all the time.  You try to learn everything and struggle at most things.  Why can't you see muscles yet? 
• Three months into classes.  You've lost weight.  You can see muscles.  You give up happy hour, cocktails and cheese because why would you want to to cancel out all that work you just suffered through.  You buy new pants two sizes smaller.  It's glorious.
• Immediately following the purchase of new pants?  First plateau - workout times are fast, like really, really fast.  Body is less sore.  Time to increase weights.  Jump on a higher box.  Attempt double unders.  Basically, time to step it up.  
• First CrossFit Summer.  Friend asks you to go boating.  You have them pick you up at the dock so you can get your workout in first.  Everyone looks at you like you are crazy.  
• Six months in.  Rx your first workout.  You are a rockstar.  You see the CrossFit Games in your future.  
• Six months + one day.  Actually watch a CrossFit Games athlete do a workout.  Brutal realization that you are not as awesome as you think you are.  Also, does that person have a 12 pack???
• Six months + two days.  Up your gym membership to unlimited classes.  12 classes per month is no longer cutting it.  You are determined to be excellent at CrossFit.  Expensive?  Yes.  Worth it?  Absolutely. 
• Nine months.  Sign up for your first competition.  Get killed.  Another brutal realization it's time to step up. Get a gym best friend who pushes you every day. 
• Ten months.  Time for your yearly physical.  Step on the scale and cry.  All the weight you've lost is back.  Wonder how that's possible.  Realize you've lost inches but gained muscle and a CrossFit booty.  Still, ego is bruised from the scale.  Make a promise to yourself to only use the scale when weighing luggage from here forward. The scale is officially the devil.  
• Ten months +.  Realize that you really love this stuff.  Sign up for a Level 1 Certification course.  You are going to be a trainer and you are going to be awesome.  
• First CrossFit Open.  Get schooled every Saturday for five weeks.  DQ on the last WOD because you can't pull your chest to the bar.  Die a little inside. Decide that you will do better next year. 
• Happy One Year Anniversary CrossFit!!!  Take your certification course.  Again realize that you are not awesome and it seems everyone is better at everything than you.  Stand in the middle of the circle of humiliation while demonstrating how NOT to do medicine ball cleans.  Realize you have a million things to learn.  Regardless, pass certification test.  Congrats.  You are a CrossFit coach.  Now panic.
• CrossFit Anniversary + 1 week.  Start CrossFit coaching internship. You may not know everything but you will be the most enthusiastic one there.  You are determined to learn and be awesome. 
• After internship.  Teach your first solo class. Try to keep sounding confident even though you are freaking out.  Go home and cry because you think you'll never be good at this. 
• Continue teaching.  Realize that you are getting better with every class you teach.  Ask questions.  Watch videos.  Learn as much as you can from the other coaches.  Take pieces of their coaching styles and incorporate it into your own.  Before you know it, coaching is coming naturally.  You are having fun and you love it. 
• CrossFit Summer #2. Run a Tough Mudder with friends from the gym.  You won't regret it.  Your body will hurt.  You'll want to cry midway through - then you'll pass groups who started 90 minutes before you and you'll realize that you are doing way more awesome than you think. Three hours later, you'll finish it and have a memory that you'll never forget.  
• 18 months into CrossFit.  You can finally Rx most workouts.  People ask you for help and you actually know how to help them.  You finally feel pretty confident with coaching even though you know there is still a lot to learn.  Expand your friend group at the gym.  Shazam every catchy song you hear and add it to the CrossFit playlist on Spotify. 
• Day 471.  You'll still wake up sore every day.  You want to date someone who gets CrossFit so you don't have to explain to them what Fran is and why you want to do it.  You'll spend more money at Lululemon, Reebok and Rogue than you do at Nordstrom and Target combined.  You'll cry, sweat, and bleed at the gym and love every minute of it.  You will love coaching and seeing people hit their goals and set new PRs.  Set yourself new goals every month.  Set some 'you' time aside.  Find a workout partner who encourages you and will push you to the next level.  Keep working your ass off every day. 
  
  
  

Goal Update

It's been three weeks since I posted my goals and wanted to give you all an update since I know you've been anxiously waiting.  

Let's review my goals:

• Unassisted pullups. 
• Kipping pullups.  Link 5 together.
• Pushups. Do 15 legit pushups unbroken.
• Burpees.  Do 30 burpees unbroken without whining.
• Work on my rope climbs.
• Double unders. 15 unbroken.  

 Now... here's the update: 

• Unassisted pullups.  NAILED IT!
• Kipping pullups.  NAILED IT!!!
• Pushups. Did 10, had to pause.  Arms were toast.  Getting there. 
• Burpees. Can do the burpees - just can't do them without whining.  Working on it. 
• Work on my rope climbs.  Haven't gotten to this yet - soon!!!
• Double unders. 15 unbroken.  Still the bane of my existence.  Got 10 today with a single skip between.  Apparently I'm regressing instead of moving forward.  Damnit. 

 So... that's the update on the goals.  (It's been a solid six months of work to get one unassisted pullup - I totally deserve a hug.)  I've got 5 1/2 weeks left before the Bacon Beatdown.  The rest of my goals are manageable but it's seriously time to buckle down and get my ass in shape.  Today's workout killed me: 

20 min AMRAP
200m run (ish... not actually sure how far - we use landmarks!)
3 hang power cleans
5 front squats
7 push jerks

I did 10 rounds plus the run at 60lbs and was thrashed.  I need to get back on my regular healthy eating plan - I can definitely feel a difference in my performance with not eating as well as I should.  

Yup.  This is EXACTLY how I felt this morning.

On a completely different and unrelated note:  I have a blind date tonight.  And I am totally psyched about it.  Stay tuned for the results (and cross your fingers that it goes well!). 

The Crossfit Girl's Guide to Hand Care

At my gym, we've recently started a pull-up strength segment - so basically every day, we are working pull-ups, negatives and assistance lifts.  The result?  Stronger strict pull-ups, working our way up to strong and healthy kipping pull ups, AND sore hands.  I have strong hands and mine feel totally thrashed. My forearms are killing.  My calluses are feeling extra special.  So... let's take a second to talk hand care shall we?  

Do not roll your eyes.  We watch what we put into our bodies, we spend ridiculous money on shoes and clothes (or maybe that's just me...hmmm), we get up at the crack of dawn to beat ourselves up - but we can't take a few minutes to make sure that we don't look like this? 

This isn't a good look for anyone.  Exactly how much fun do you think this makes doing anything at the gym?  Or for life in general?  Ouch.  No thank you. 

Yeah... that's what I thought.  Read on people.  

There are a ton of great articles and blogs out there that will go into great detail of what you should/shouldn't do to keep your hands in shape.  I've read a bunch of them - some I agree with, some I think are over the top.  Listen... most of us are doing CrossFit recreationally.  It's our fitness regiment - not our life.  We aren't the Rich Fronings and Annie Thorisdottirs of the world.  We come into the gym for an hour or two at a time, get our butts kicked and leave feeling fantastic.  Don't get me wrong - I am in no way trying to diminish what we do - it's freaking awesome! But a lot of the hand care stuff that you read is WAY over the top for the average athlete.  

I do a lot of CrossFit.  I spend a lot of time hanging from the bar just trying to build up my strength.  Every day when I come into the gym - I try to spend a minute or two either hanging, working on my kipping pullups, or just staring at the bar willing it to come down to my level as my arms can't quite pull me up like they are supposed to.  Since I've been doing CrossFit - I've never had a big callus tear.  I may just be lucky, but I like to think that I actually take pretty good care of my hands.  Here's what works for me: 

1. A pumice stone. Seriously.  Best $1.99 I've ever spent. I keep it in my shower and hit my hands every day.  It takes less than 30 seconds to go over my hands and work down the calluses.  Don't do it too hard - you don't want to take off all your skin (that defeats the purpose). 
2. Lotion.  Between the chalk and the hand washing to get the chalk off and probably all the sweat - my hands get really dry.  Invest in good lotion.  Like the really rich and intensive moisturizing kind.  I have two different kinds that I use: Vitamin E Lotion and Hemp Hand Protector.  Both are from The Body Shop.  Vitamin E lotion is super light but moisturizing (wow, I sound like a commercial).  The Hemp Hand Protector is more oily - so I usually only use it at night or when I'm going to be sitting for a while.  Good lotion will save your hands.  When your hands are super dry, it's much easier to crack the calluses.  Ouch. 
3. A reasonable amount of chalk.  If you need chalk, use it.  But there is no reason to have chalk from your wrist to the tips of your fingers.  Rub it in across the parts of your hand that actually grip the bar.  If you use too much chalk, it's possible that your hands will move too much on the bar - therefore causing more friction and therefore more blisters/rips.  Plus, do you really need to be THAT guy who rechalks every set and literally has white hands?  No.  That's excessive.  No one needs that.  Not even Rich Froning.  

   

   You're welcome. (See... he's totally using an appropriate amount of chalk and he's the fittest man alive. No excuses.)

Before you start investing your money into lifting gloves, Body Glide, and other fancy fixes - give these things a shot.  It could be an easy fix that saves your hands (and your wallet).  By all means, if you are still having problems - there are tons of resources out there for more advanced hand care - and as a coach, I'm always down to help you with whatever you think needs to be taped, chalked, Body Glided, gloved, etc.  

Just make sure you are taking care of yourself.  We need our hands for almost everything - we can't really do anything at the gym if our hands are destroyed.  And on a personal level, who wants to hold hands with someone who has open wounds all over?  No one.  That's who. 

Why Everyone Should Love Snatches

Get your mind out of the gutter, people.  That is not what I meant. 

Last night, for the first time in five days, I was able to totally clear my mind and only think about one thing - not dropping a 50lb barbell on top of my head at olympic lifting class.  Snatches are such a mental lift - yes, you have to be strong (or at least being strong helps), but you also have to be able to put the pieces together, not be afraid of the movement (and it's a scary one!), clear your head and just do it.  When you overthink, you miss.  When you don't lift with confidence, you miss.  When you don't listen to your coach, you miss.  You have to clear your head of all the clutter and focus on what you are doing.  I saw a t-shirt last weekend that said 'Shut Up. Just Do You.'  Totally true. Take that, little voices in my head. 

I walked into the gym last night totally wound up. I moved this last weekend into my new house and it was the most stressful move that I've ever had.  Even though I had movers (best decision made and money spent!) and my parents here to help - moving into the house that I own and will be living in for the foreseeable future was 10 times more stressful than moving into any rental I've had. The move itself was easy - it's all the other stuff that comes along with it that was hard.  My dad was on hand to do an entire list of 'daddy-do' items (that's like a honey-do list for those of us who are relationship-challenged) and my mom and I spent most of the weekend visiting every home store in the general Seattle area. (Having jumbo sized furniture worked out to not be as awesome as it could have been when nothing fit up my staircase.  My new living room is officially brought to you by West Elm.)

I just had to be 'on' at all times for the last five days. I spent all afternoon/evening on Thursday getting ready for the move. Movers came first thing on Friday morning. Saturday/Sunday were dedicated to organizing my life.  Monday I had to coach in the am and then work all day.  It was a constant stream of questions and thinking and dealing with things for five days.  Plus, I got no more than five hours of sleep a night for days, dealt with a dog who discovered how to jump the fence, spent more money than I thought possible, and I still can't find half my stuff.  I seriously considered cancelling my workout last night and just sitting at home on the couch and staring blankly at the TV.  I'm so glad that I didn't.  Going into the gym last night gave me a chance to let everything go and seriously clear my head. 

Yes, I missed a lot of lifts last night.  On weights that weren't heavy.  But it happened every time that I let my mind start to wander.  I stopped focusing on my speed and I jumped too high and landed off balance.  I didn't focus on breaking the bar and let my shoulders disengage.  I love snatches because not only do they feel awesome when you do it right, but they force you to engage completely.  To be one with the bar (Yes. I'm totally aware of how dorky that sounds.)  

But seriously. Snatches. Cheaper than therapy. 

Wednesday Goal Day!

Yes... I tried to make that sound just as fun as Sunday Funday.  However...  no day of the week rhymes with 'goal'... so Wednesday Goal Day was the best I've got. 

Most recent bad decision?  I signed up for The Bacon Beatdown on October 12 -13.  I had a moment of total motivation after watching everyone compete at WODFest this weekend and decided that I too can be a stellar athlete.  Hmmm... well.  This will be six workouts over two days. This is a run down of what the workouts were at the Florida event last month: 

WOD 1
100 air squats to a med ball
50 hang snatches (55lbs)
100 air squats (10 min cap)

WOD 2
12 min AMRAP
10 single leg burpees (what?!?)
20 double unders
30m prowler push (135lbs)

WOD 3
3 min AMRAP
Pull ups (20 deadlift buy-in @ 145lbs)
3 min AMRAP
Knees to Elbows (20 front rack lunges buy in @ 65lbs)
3 min AMRAP
Rope climbs (20 Sumo DL High Pull buy in @ 65lbs)
(Isn't this really just three mini workouts wrapped into one?!)

WOD 4
6 rounds (max 12 minutes)
6 ball over bar @ 70lbs
6 back squats @ 105lbs
12 ring push ups (ouch.  must practice.)

WOD 5
Every minute on the minute
Keg ground to overhead (a keg?!?!)
7 burpees 

WOD 6
30 OH Lunges - Right Leg (15lbs)
30 Cleans (95lbs)
30 OH Lunges - Left Leg (15lbs) 10 minute cap

Ummmm... holy balls.  I know that this isn't what the workouts will be here - but I imagine that it will be comparable.  And hard.  Ridiculously hard.

I've got 66 days from now to get ready for this shindig.  And I need some goals.  I figured that posting them online would be a great way for me to stay motivated and accountable so here they are: 

GOALS

• Unassisted pullups.  These have been a goal for a long time now and I am thisclose to being there. 
• Kipping pullups.  Link 5 together.
• Pushups. Do 15 legit pushups unbroken. (And by legit, I mean full plank, chest to ground)
• Burpees.  Do 30 burpees without wanting to cry.  (Or as normal people may put it - 30 unbroken)
• Work on my rope climbs.  I've got them - I just need to be more proficient.  
• Double unders.  The bane of my freaking existence.  Get 15 unbroken.  

I'm currently recruiting for Team Danielle (and yes, there may be shirts).  If you are in Seattle and available on Oct 12-13, put me on your calendar.  The more people I have watching me, the less likely I am to cry after single legged burpees (or whatever hell they think up for this crazy event).   

On another note, there is a bacon eating contest after the WOD portion of this competition.  That I actually stand a legitimate chance of winning.