CrossFit NYC: The Black Box

Yeah! This looks awsome, I can't wait to take this on at the Box.

Moon
Where did you get poutine?

Michelle
I'd like to check out your kipping pull ups next time I see you. I have an idea that may or may not work. I'd suggest doing more K2E's and GHD sit ups. Forceful stomach contraction from the frog kick style might help you get over the bar quicker. You should be getting a big momentum boost and your lats won't fatigue as quickly.

check out Coach P on affiliates blog today!

Why it is considered important to eat local?

"Farmers can lose sight of the fact that they're growing food for actual eaters rather than for middlemen, and consumers can easily forget that growing good food takes care and hard work. In a long food chain, the story and identity of the food (Who grew it? Where and how was it grown?) disappear into the undifferentiated stream of commodities, so that the only information communicated between consumers and producers is a price. In a short food chain, eaters can make their needs and desires known to the farmer, and farmers can impress on eaters the distinctions between ordinary and exceptional food, and the many reasons why exceptional food is worth what it costs. Food reclaims its story, and some of its nobility, when the person who grew it hands it to you. So here's a subclause to the get-out-of-the-supermarket rule: Shake the hand that feeds you." Michael Pollan

thx jeff-

If I handed you two pieces of produce, one grown locally and one not, would you be able to tell the difference?

Hari, I would first check the produce's Fran time.

I dunno. However, if you looked inside with a microscope you can see that food grown on industrial farms have less nutrients though. Crops are selected and bred for qualities other than nutrition: color, shape, size, longevity, immunity to pests. Also the time it take food to get to your table effects the amount of nutrients in it.

I've picked fruits that have tasted way better than anything I've ever found in a store so I think there is something to it. For example have you noticed there is only one supplier of Strawberries and Blueberries these days? Driscol? They are bred for size and uniformity of appearance. They look awesome, but if you've ever tasted fresh picked strawberries and blueberries from someone's garden they look small and weird but they taste amazing. I would bet you any amount of money that those fresh picked berries contain far more nutrients and are far healthier for you ounce for ounce than any store bought berry.

While economics is interesting in theory, the practice of increasing the cheap food supply in this country has helped pave the way to obesity and poor health. If we put a premium on quality over quantity, we would have better food and therefore better health.

Subbed 8 pullups & 8 ring dips for muscle ups
24 kg kettlebell swings
HSPU to one ab mat
six rounds.

I was feeling tired as had not slept in around 20 hours.

Consider for a moment why food is processed--to preserve shelf life. Pests eat food for nutrients. Period. If you squeeze the nutrient out of wheat and rice you get white flour and white rice which is far less appealing to pests because it contains far less nutrients. It also decays much slower because the time-sensitive nutrients are gone.

Did my first "Red" Angie in a one on one session with Coach P last night at The Box.

41:10 with the red band

Who knew that putting together sets of 3 and 5 pushups and pullups could be so hard?

When it is cheaper to have a product shipped from hundreds or thousands of miles away than to buy it from the guy next door, it can be worthwhile to examine the reasons behind this. In some cases, there's no other solution. But sometimes, we should ask ourselves what we are willing to sacrifice at each end of the chain to save a buck.

Hari:

Technically no, the average Joe could probably not spot a local Jersey tomato from a California import. If you had the opportunity to smell them, you probably could. An in season tomato will smell divine and of the earth, while a cross-country tomato (especially out of season) will be devoid of any pungent aroma.

As Tyler pointed out, the majority of produce in America is grown to meet industry standards of shape, size, and color. This sort of farming misses the point of growing food that tastes good and has a high level of nutritonal value; even with some of the "organic" labeled produce this is the case.

You may not be able to tell the difference visually (except maybe your tomatoes don't look "perfect"), but I can definitely tell the difference between a gigantic Driscol's strawberry that tastes of fertilizer and sponginess versus a sweet, small, sun ripened berry from the farmer's market.

Not only should we say "Eat Local" but "Eat in Season". That's a great way to not only eat well, but to eat cheaper. Produce that travels a long way like berries in winter, are going to cost a lot more than some cabbage or sweet potatoes.

Another great book to read about eating local and in season is "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life" by Barbara Kingsolver.

This is why the only McDonald's I eat at is the one in Chinatown.

Nate
max rounds in 20 minutes
2 muscle ups (sub'd jumping muscle ups)
4 HSPU (head to floor)
8 2 pood KB swings (sub'd 60# DB)

9 rounds

some anecdotal b.s. to add to the discussion:

the branch of my family that was on a kansas farm during the depression were independent enough of the market economy that they were able to afford a car and offer work to hobos. not many of their descendants still live on farms. people ran off to join the war (as medics, they were mennonites) and then moved onto big lots in the city suburbs (plenty of room for a garden).

good luck finding a farm stand today. a great uncle is still farming. dairy and feed. no fresh tomatoes. if you visit his farm, you'll see he's more excited about operating the manure-to-fertilizer flow than the actual milk and defensive about any suggestions the cows are unhealthy (they don't eat corn, mr. pollan). strangely enough, it doesn't occur to him to offer you some fresh milk, nor will his wife be bragging about how they grew the food you just prayed over. you're more likely to complain about what a financial burden it is owning a farm, even though you love farming and always have.

meanwhile, having spent a lot of time in turkey, i've seen piles and piles of fruits and vegetables that are cheap as hell when they are in season. whether from a supermarket or a horse-drawn carriage, the market there (much to the chagrin of the EU, the financial sector, capitalists everywhere, etc etc) cannot stanch the flow of produce from a million impoverished family farms serving up organic food at just the right time of year and barely getting by on the low commodity prices they're fetching. their children are still being dispatched to the big city by the dozen to find jobs that probably aren't there.

for all of that, however, they probably have more diabetes per capita than we do (and that's saying something). i may gorge on fresh fish and vegetables at home there, but if I go to a restaurant it's greasy kebabs and more white bread than you can shake a stick at, followed by sweets that could kill a horse.

so they both suck. while us "rich" folks are lucky to have fairway and a farmer's market, people in the heartlands, if they still got it, can't afford it and are probably ill informed about it. there's a lot more to this than the difference between a jersey and cali tomato, neither of which, in any case, are as good as the ones you grow yourself.

Forgot to put my warm up:
10 min jog @ 8:30/mile pace
50 DU's

Practiced OHS
10@45# for form
8@65#, 75#, 85#, 95#

should've added a caveat to grow your own tomato: but don't quit your day job. some friends tried. former work-a-day new yorkers like (most of) us packed up and became slow food maine. but at this point it's easier to buy their book than their goat cheese.

yearofthegoat.net

Tyler writes,

"I would bet you any amount of money that those fresh picked berries contain far more nutrients and are far healthier for you ounce for ounce than any store bought berry."

Does anyone know how much more nutrients local produce contains? Is it one or two percent, or is it far greater?

Avery writes,

"Not only should we say 'Eat Local' but 'Eat in Season'."

This makes sense.

RIP Nate, and thank you.

Everyone, Paul Manfre, a fruit and vegetable broker who I train in the mornings, has graciously offer to supply the Box with some fruit. What would we want?

I like the Black Grapes he brought me before. He can get many types of fruit and vegetables)

i would say what is local and in season..probably leaves us with pears and apples!

Jeff - Poutine can be had here - http://www.pommesfrites.ws/ No idea as to the quality compared to the official stuff up north, but I think it's pretty good. Going down, at least.

I know we speak about what to eat and when to eat, but does anyone have any input on in what order to eat things? I remember hearing an interview of someone who claimed that certain foods shouldn't be eaten together and that some foods should be eaten first (or last) because of their composition and the way they are absorbed by the body. Has anyone heard of such a thing?

Moon what you are talking about is food combining. Many claim it helps them a lot, never really did anything for me. The theory involves the rate of difgestion of different foods. For example, proteins are not eaten with starchy carbs. Melons are always eaten alone.
Some basics here:
http://www.internethealthlibrary.com/DietandLifestyle/Food_combining.htm

The Gracie's Diet is big about the pairing of food... However, I don't think there are many outside the Gracie's who would ever consider the diet, but it works for them.

Yup - I believe that is the idea. Great response - we're gonna have to start calling you The Librarian!

Sarena - Doesn't the Body Ecology Diet have rules about eating fermented food and about food combining?

Has anybody posted this yet? It's about calcium and muscle fatigue.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/12/health/research/12musc.html?ei=5087&em=&en=3416ce5cea673d75&ex=1202965200&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1202846618-kJYxCh0JQt0MQjz4proULw

check this out from the Cleveland Crossfit guy

http://blog.cleveland.com/lifestyles/2008/02/case_western_reserve_quintet_c.html

good concept.. if its sustainable.

I was in Italy recently and was surprised at how ingrained eating "in season" actually is. Its really a deeply ingrained way of life in Italy.

i am injured. Or, i should say, i have rekindled my relationship with an old dance injury from college. My hip flexor and my hamstring are in pain with every step, therefore making it difficult to squat/kb swing/dl/anything involving lower body. My spirits are now down so i don't feel like doing anything. I streched today and jump roped and did some kipping "pull ups" (not quite chin over bar). All of which bothered my leg.
poop

i am injured. Or, i should say, i have rekindled my relationship with an old dance injury from college. My hip flexor and my hamstring are in pain with every step, therefore making it difficult to squat/kb swing/dl/anything involving lower body. My spirits are now down so i don't feel like doing anything. I streched today and jump roped and did some kipping "pull ups" (not quite chin over bar). All of which bothered my leg.
poop

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=513820&in_page_id=1811

Who said weight training isn't for everybody?

Marisela-what did u do to bring on the old injury? that sucks. sorry.:(

as for food pairing- i find that fries goes nicely with lots of things. sort of a "neutral" in the food pairing world.

While you guys are at the library you might check out "The China Study." It's by the Cornell scientist that organized the largest study of diet ever conducted. The last chapter on government/industry misinformation is worth reading on its own. Pollen references the China study many times in his books. John Robbins is another author that has a few popular books about food/societal impacts but I haven't read those.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE4DB1430F93BA35756C0A966958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=3

Picked up an amazing cookbook this weekend bassed on reviews/recommendations from a KB champ--Kelly Moore. Its called Nourishing Traditions. Author is founder of Weston Price (as I read somewhere). Really into real food, FAT and fermenting! very different than the way most of us were raised in comparison to what we are learning now

let me know if you want to borrow it anyone!

http://www.modernforager.com/blog/2008/02/12/the-next-advance-in-low-fat-foods/
The best line:
REAL HEALTH WILL NEVER COME IN A PACKAGE

Nate:
8 rounds + 2 MU + 2 HSPU

As Rx'd, sorta kinda:
- MU's weren't from full genuine arm completely extended hang, but at least they were muscle-ups;
- HSPU's were sometimes iffy, but at least they were top of the head to the ground;
- KB weight: 24kg, 24kg, 24kg, 32kg, 40kg, 32kg, 32kg, 40kg

Post: 100m row - 15.7 s

Nourishing Traditions is a wonderful cookbook and will tell you everything you need to know about the benefits of fermentation, raw foods, grassfed animals, quality proteins, why you should soak all grains (if you eat 'em) and nuts. And, yes, Sally Fallon does love the fat. The Weston A. Price Foundation/Sally Fallon has a webite: realmilk.com which advocates raw dairy and offers information on legislative actions (in NY, it's only legal to sell it on the actual farm). Fallon's colleague Dr. Enig is also the expert on coconut fat.

Also, Hawthorne Valley Farm which is Ghent, NY, is a Weston Price farm - they have a stall at the Union Square Farmers' market where you can pick up meat, cheese, yogurt, bread, beet kvass, the best raw, truly fermented sauerkraut, veggies (if in season) etc. Fantastic place. hawthornevalleyfarm.org

Another lovely book that gives basic info on food combining is If the Buddha Came to Dinner. It's much more on the vegetarian/macrobiotic tip, and is very woo-woo, but there's some valuable stuff there about how to establish a positive relationship with food. There's a good cleanse too.

And now I will stop.

could have been any number of things. Assuming part of it is my job change and the wearing of heels. The injury was from ballet and happened while i was en pointe, so im assuming that's where it started, the heels. But who knows, really. All i know is what i'm feeling now. It hurts badly enough that it wakes me up at night :(

12 rounds +2MU +4HSPU.

The swings were the WORST part of this, especially because of my weight and just having come from track practice which was sprint intensive. Owie.

7 round + 3 pull ups

2 Muscle-ups (sub 8 pull ups, 8 push ups)

4 Handstand Push-ups (sub 4 pike push ups)

8 2-Pood Kettlebell swings (sub 1 pood kb)

marisela-stop wearing heels to bed. you won't wake up at night.
:)

8 Rounds + 1 MU. HSPU's 3.5 inches less than full ROM (head to 45 lb plate)

6 Rounds + 1 MU

Real MU's untill fourth round, then switched to jumping MU's for one round, then with the help of Hari and Allison I went on to pump out MU's again untill my 7th round where I could only get one out before the clock stopped. It was cool to have everyone cheering me on to get that last MU damn, next time.

HSPU's where solid for 4 rounds, then I went head to 1 AbMat on the 5th round and head to 2 Abmats on the second.

Swings where with the KB that weighs about 54 pounds. Form was not great, but I got better as the rounds went by with Coaching from Coach P and Allison NYC.

Awsome workout. To all of you CF beasts that did this one as Rxed and got 8 rounds or higher, amazing!

Joseph you did an awesome job. We can work on your swing sometime.

Great job on the MUs and sticking with it.

Sure thing, thanks.