Hostile Takeover 2010

Well, we're sore and we can't open our jars of almond butter or bathe ourselves.   What an awesome experience though.   4 people, one Honda Fit, a rockin DJ riding shotgun and three WODs.  What could be better?

NW CrossFit, winner of the 2009 CrossFit Affiliate Cup, was the host of the Hostile Takeover.  In CrossFit fashion, they were as welcoming and respectable as could be.  Their box was par for the course, located in an industrial strip mall with garage doors and a funky layout.  There was never a smell of competition in the box, only friendly faces, handshakes, smiles and encouragement.  After a while though, that smell soon changed to straight B.O..

Dan and Artie and Erin and I were competing with 8 other teams in the couples WOD.  There were beasts and manimals competing as individuals.  There were also men competing too (the girls from CrossFit Vancouver in B.C. were no less than Amazon females whom migrated north.  I was literally afraid of them).  The WODs were released to us when we checked in, plus we got a cool Life as Rx shirt too.

I wasn't too sure how I was going to perform before the event.  Ironically, I was much more comfortable and confident once I saw the WOD list.  "Sheeeet fire LeRoy!"  I thought.  "This is tic-tac-toe, piece of cake, upside down."  Not to take away anything from the trainers at NW CrossFit though.  I was just glad there weren't any overhead squats or muscle ups.

It helped to have Erin as our cheerleader too.  It also helped to have RT wear her tank top and show off her guns and Dan to sport his abs.  I was able to sport my right deltoid and bicep.  Some guys were just ripped and solid and I thought to myself "Damn, I just want to look good naked.  Enough with all of this high-intensity lifting crap."  Okay, so that's not really true.  At this point we were all pumped, jacked and fired up ready to rock and roll.  I was hydrated all week, loaded up on Endurox, Amino Vital and glutamine, and ready like a horse in the gates.

WOD#1

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400 M Plate Carry (run together, each with 10kg plate) 
100 Power Snatches 50/35kg 
150 Pullups 
200 Burbees 
400 M Plate Carry (Together) 

* One person working at a time on reps. Time is recorded when both partners have crossed the finish line. 
"3,2,1, go!"  We took off like a bat out of hell!  Dan and I were in the lead and the first ones back in the studio from the run.  I don't know if we were racing each other or if we were just being encouraging.  Afterwards, Dan told me he finally found his challenge: body weight WODs.  At last!  I know his challenge!  Erin & I finished 2nd, Artie & Dan 4th.  No ripped hands.....yet.  
WOD #2
The 70s Rock and Row
70 Thrusters 50/35kg 
70 HR Pushps 
70 Power Cleans 50/35kg 
70 Toe to Bar 

* Both team members must be working a the same time, but one must be on the rower until a 3k is complete, at which time they can work on the movements together. They must finish all 70 reps before moving on to the next exercise. 
This WOD was split into two heats, and Dan and Artie went in the first one.  They were rocking and in the lead for quite a while.  Then came the toe to bar.  Erin and I are screaming from the sidelines and the two of them!  "Come on!  Get up there!"  Dan seemed to be just slipping off the bar every time he jumped onto it.  He was only getting about 1 or 2 each time.  "That's not like him."  I thought.  "Something's wrong."  When they reached their 70th rep and finished the WOD, he started walking towards us with his hands help up.  My heart dropped.  His hands were soaked in blood, splattered with chalk and skin dangling from his palms.  He was slipping off the bar every time because of the amount of blood on his hands.  I was almost sick to my stomach.  Up to that very moment, I felt great about all of the WODS.  After I saw his hands, I almost threw in the towel. I couldn't do that to Erin thought.  I was now nauseous and scarred at that point.  Too late though.  Athletes were called to the battle floor.
The events weren't too bad, I thought. No cake walk though. Up to that point, I think I completed about 3 toe to bars in my entire life.   Erin & I finished 3rd and Dan and Artie finished 8th.  
WOD #3
2 Rounds, 4 Minutes per round 
100 Double Unders 
Max rep Deadlifts (women)/ Squat Clean (men) 80kg 
This was kind of confusing.  The round was 4 minutes. One male partner had to complete 100 double-unders ASAFP and when finished, the other female partner completed deadlifts for the remaining time.  Erin completed 41 deadlifts at 180#'s!  
Then Erin went straight to her 100 double-unders and when she finished, I went to the squat cleans.  I completed 10.  She and I totaled 51 for that rounds.  Erin and & finished 2nd, Artie and Dan, 4th.  
What a rush!  Everyone on was so nice and gracious.  No egos, no attitudes.  That is such a nice change of pace for competitors and athletes.  Erin and Artie, thank you so much for telling us about this awesome event and picking us to be your partners.  It was so inspiring to be with the two of you and your 10,000 song playlist.  I love being part of the CrossFit community and I hope everyone can have the opportunity to compete in the future.  What a blast!  
-Chuck G.   

  

Have you ever heard of Orthorexia Nervosa?

Everyone knows that you can't talk about CrossFit without also mentioning Paleo.  This is now pretty ironic considering that CrossFit fired Rob Wolf over political BS, and he's still THE go-to guy when explaining the methodology of how and why many CrossFitters eat.  We're ordering our own cows, buying our own chicken eggs, planning our meals, reading the ingredients list like it's the latest edition of People and most importantly, are always on the lookout for the next great Paleo dessert!    

To maintain my sanity, I (Chuck) try to fit in a Hershy's special dark chocolate every now and then, and even a slice or two of pizza once a month when I get the craving, or emotional (luckily, that's not too often).  There are some whom rarely if ever deviate from Paleo and/or other healthy diets as well.  Although it is not listed as a mental or eating disorder in the DSM-IV and not considered to be a part of the DSM-V due in 2013 ORTHOREXIA NERVOSA has become increasingly common since it was coined just over 10 years ago.   Coined by Steven Bratman,   Greek orthos, "correct or right", and orexis for "appetite"is literally "correct appetite."  Bratman describes the term as "an unhealthy obsession of the health conscience individual with healthy eating." 


As Paleoists', we try to avoid foods containing additives, preservative and ingredients with 3 or more syllables.  The orthorexic may avoid these also, however this can sometimes lead to anorexia nervosa.  The anorexic avoids foods with the intention to become thin, while the orthorexic doesn't wish to become anorexic, but simply desires to be healthy.   Where does this obsession come from?  Many sources can contribute to this unhealthy obsession, such as, family (how many of your mothers told you "A minute on the hips, forever on the hips"?), trends ( e.g., Grass fed cows are on the way!  Grains will kill you!  A billion Chinese really could be wrong!), recent illness (Bourbon.  Still trying to forget about that). 


We all want to be our healthiest and feel our best in and out of the studio, and sometimes we choose to avoid certain foods that go straight to our hips or contribute to the spare tire .  That's normal and expected.  In order to be successful, there will need to be sacrifice and determination, but we don't expect you to be Posh Spice.  Do what works for you, and don't get crazy  if you take one bite of Dryer's Ice Cream with xantham gum as one of the last ingredients.   However, if you ARE training for an event like CrossFit Sectionals, Regionals, fitness shows, then of course, eliminate temporarily, but don't depravity indefinitely.  Also, should you need anyone to share your Wilbur Burger at Corn Pass Roadhouse with, I'm just a phone call or Facebook away.      


Also, I have yet to see an anorexic, orthorexic, CrossFitting Paleoist.  "Orthoexercrossfitter Nervosa?"  You heard it here first, folks!     

Raise your hand if you're an emotional eater.

This morning in class, I announced to class, "Raise your hand if you're an emotional eater."  I and about 99% of people raised their hands, which made me feel right at home & not so lonely.  One of the qualities I admire about the community in the studio is how comfortable everyone feels in the presence of each other to share their feelings and opinions. Except for Brad.  His stories make me blush.  But seriously...

I, for one, take comfort in emotional eating when I get angry, which fortunately isn't all that often.  Sometimes I just get so frustrated and angry that I think to myself "Screw it!  I've been good for way too long and the only thing that's going to make me feel better is a pumpkin milkshake and sweet potato fries from Burgerville!  Paleo can SUCK IT for day!"  Do I feel better afterwards? Hell yes I do!  My stomach isn't in such a friendly place for about an hour, but the benefits of that milkshake hitting my taste buds and taking me to a happy place far outweigh the GI consequences I'll face later on.  

Because my personality is similar to that of a 12 year old girl, I'll usually crave any kind of chocolate I can rummage in any part of the house.  If we're out of chocolate, then I'll scour the freezer for Shelly's hidden stash of Chunky Monkey in the very back of the bottom shelf that she thinks I don't know about.  "What's that, babe? No, I don't know who ate the rest of your Chunky Monkey.  Weird." And because she's getting older she says, "Hmm, I could have sworn I saved some.  I guess must have eaten it all."  The memory is always the first thing to go.  I also can never pass the chip aisle in the grocery store and those lime Tostitos: the greatest technical improvement in the history of corn.  

Some of you said that you have "real emotional attachments to food".  I completely understand.  As a former chunky monkey myself, I often ate when I wasn't hungry and was just bored.


According to Robert Gould, MD and creator of Shrink Yourself, an adult development, self-help program,  "Emotional eating means you eat to satisfy emotional hunger; it means you use food for comfort or as a way to cope with life; and it means you eat for reasons other than what your body needs.

When people eat at times like these, they are eating to satisfy, numb, or avoid their emotions. People who are suffering from emotional eating are driven to eat so they won't have to face what's bothering them internally."

Below are Dr. Gould's 12 types of emotional hunger.  

The 12 Types of Emotional Hunger

By: Dr. Roger Gould, M.D.

Below are the 12 types of emotional hunger that fuel emotional eating. In order to lose weight for life, you will have to conquer all 12 types. Look over the list -- which type of emotional hunger derails your diet?

Type 1. Dulling The Pain With The Food.

If you get really hungry when you feel angry, depressed, anxious, bored, or lonely, you suffer from Type 1 emotional hunger, and you use food to dull the pain that these emotions cause.

Type 2. Sticks And Stones May Break Your Bones, But Cake Won't Heal What Hurts You.

According to Dr. Gould and Mastering Food, if you react by getting hungry when others talk down to you, take advantage of you, belittle you or take you for granted, then you suffer from Type 2 emotional hunger. You eat to avoid confrontation.

Type 3. A Full Heart Fills An Empty Belly.

If you crave food when you have tension in your close relationships, you suffer from Type 3 emotional hunger. You eat to avoid feeling the pain of rejection or anger.

Type 4. Hate Yourself, Love Your Munchies.

If you tend to become hypercritical of yourself, if you label yourself "stupid," "lazy," or "a loser," you have Type 4 emotional hunger. You eat to "stuff down" self-doubts.

Type 5. Secret Desires Have No Calories.

If your hunger gets activated because your intimate relationships don't satisfy some basic need like trust or security, you suffer from Type 5 emotional hunger and you use food to try to fill the gap, according to Dr. Gould and Mastering Food,

Type 6. Forty Gulps And The Well Is Still Empty.

If you eat to make up for the deprivation you experienced as a child, you have Type 6 emotional eating.

Type 7. It's My Pastry, and I'll Eat If I Want To.

If you eat to assert your independence because you don't want anyone telling you what to do, you have Type 7 emotional hunger.

Type 8. I Can't Come To Work Today--I'm Eating

According to Dr. Gould and Mastering Food, if your appetite kicks in when you're faced with new challenges--if you use food to avoid rising to the test, or to insulate yourself from the fear of failure--you have Type 8 emotional hunger.

Type 9. Aroused by Aromas, Not by the Chef.

If you stuff your face in order to avoid your sexuality-either to stay overweight so that nobody desires you or to hide from intimate encounters--you suffer from Type 9 emotional hunger.

Type 10. I'll Beat You With this Éclair.

Emotional eaters often eat to pay back those who have hurt them, often in the distant past. They use their bodies as battlegrounds for working out old resentments. If you do this, you're really battling type 10 emotional hunger

Type 11. Peter Pan and the Peanut Butter Cookie.

If you eat to make yourself feel carefree, like a child, you have Type 11 emotional hunger. You eat to keep yourself from facing the challenges of growing up.

Type 12. That Stranger In Shorts Wearing Your Face.

If you overeat because you fear getting thin, either consciously or unconsciously, you have Type 12 emotional hunger.

For more useful tips and information on emotional eating, please visit www.ShrinkYourself.com

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