Paleo Challenge 2011 – NOT JUST FOR CROSSFITTERS
Paleo Challenge
Alexandria & Loudoun, VA
January 24-March 5, 2011
Winner (highest % of initial bodyfat lost) gets 1-month FREE membership at Capital MMA & Elite Fitness!
Self Reward?
Self Reward?
In today’s world we all have increasingly high demands placed on our time and energy. Family and work commitments, community service, and social engagements are just a few of the activities we juggle day in and day out, 356 days a year. Whatever your priorities are at any given time, it takes personal commitment to make them happen. You want to join a bowling league? Carve that time out of your week. You have to work mandatory overtime for a month straight! Rearrange your schedule to get your time in. Your child got sick at daycare? Time to take that extra bit of vacation you had been saving for a rainy day. It’s hard to find the time to do the things we want to do and the things that we know are good for us. This is true especially when it comes to exercise, and even more so, diet.
It’s so easy to skip that workout at the end of the day or have that slice of cheese cake after dinner. You deserve it. You work hard. It’s not the worst thing you could do, right? Well, that depends. I’m not proclaiming that we should never reward ourselves for a job well done or surviving an arduous day, but time and time again I have seen many valiant efforts derailed from abusing the “reward system”, be it a cheat meal or a “free” day. The purpose of this article is to make you aware that the habit of rewarding oneself involves hidden traps that can end up hurting our health and well being, and to offer some hints on how to stay on track to meet your health and fitness goals. There are several recurring themes that I see as major hurdles to keeping on track with a diet plan.
Frequency
By far the most popular error we all make in rewarding ourselves is by doing it too frequently. The main issue here boils down to the fact that you might not have done much to give yourself that day off from the gym. If you find yourself having a sweet calorie laden dessert – or a treat every single day of the week – then there’s a problem with your effort/reward paradigm. In order to benefit from a diet or exercise program, consistency is key, and that means sticking with your exercise schedule and limiting your cheat meals to once a week at most.
Try using the 80% rule. 80% of the time eat according to your diet goals, whatever they may be, and save the cheats or rewards for just 20% of the time. Rather than crunching numbers to find out how many times per week you can cheat, most people just pick one or two meals during the week in which they can eat whatever they want, with the assumption of course that the next meal is right back on track with their diet goals.
Quantity
Now that you have given yourself some leeway to fudge (pun intended) a little, you have to keep an eye out for the next hurdle. Quantity! This booby trap is almost impossible to avoid. Serving portions have been getting bigger and bigger (think “Super Size Me”). What’s especially dangerous are the large servings of simple sugars and carbohydrates being consumed in the form of soft drinks, bread, pasta and rice. Learning to moderate your serving sizes will advance you a long way towards living a healthier life. The only reward gained for “pigging out” until you have to loosen your belt is a serious case of heartburn and a larger number on the scale.
Take some time to learn the standard serving sizes on many popular foods. For example, a standard serving of pasta is 1 cup and the standard serving of steak is 5 oz. (about the size of a deck of cards).
Poor Quality
You’ve heard of the saying, “you are what you eat”. An increase in the consumption of high glycemic carbohydrates such as bread, pasta and potatoes has caused a steady increase in heart disease and autoimmune disorders. Avoiding sugar laden high glycemic foods, while increasing the consumption of fruit, vegetables and healthy fats such as olive oil, nuts, seeds and avocados, will result in bountiful health rewards. It probably goes without saying but fast food is not good quality food by anyone’s standards.
Start with baby steps. Try eliminating, or at least greatly reducing, one type of grain from your diet. Bread is a good one to start with. Over time slowly remove other starchy foods such as white potatoes and rice and replace with large amounts of fruits and vegetables.
Food
I’m sure you have seen the recurring theme of food as a “reward”. That’s because it’s arguably the number one reward we give ourselves for a job well done. From birth, we have been bombarded with gifts of food from birthday cake to celebration dinners. Maybe it’s time we started thinking about more positive substitutes for rewarding ourselves, or better yet, changing our mindset so that the achievement of greater health and wellness becomes the reward.
Try some alternative reward ideas like massage, a manicure, or a vacation. Telling others about your diet and exercise successes often leads to developing a support group of like minded individuals who encourage you and provide motivation to continue doing the right things. Finally, sometimes the best reward is the one we give ourselves. A mental pat on the back for accomplishing our goals, or sticking to the plan we have made for ourselves, is a great way to provide self recognition and re-enforce good dietary habits.
By Jerome Winters
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Fight Gone Bad 5 Update
Team CrossFit Capital Jiu-Jitsu,
In the Fight Gone Bad 5 competition of Loudoun (Iman) vs. Old Town (Casey), as of noon on August 3:
Loudoun $425.00
Old Town $251.50
Top Loudoun member: Catherine Cochran, $150.00
Top Old Town member: Casey O’Donnell, $201.50
Total for Capital: $676.50
The #10 affiliate on the Top Affiliates Fundraising Scoreboard is at $1325. Hammerdown, the NEW affiliate in town, and much smaller than Capital is in 2nd place overall. Two years ago, Capital was #6 overall by the end of the event. We have a long way to go!
If you haven’t signed up, please go to www.fgb5.org and register under Team CrossFit Capital Jiu-Jitsu. This is open to ALL Capital members, not just CrossFitters! If you have signed up, contact your friends, family, and co-workers for donations! Who can say no to these great causes – The Wounded Warriors Project, Livestrong Foundation, and CrossFit Foundation? Consider asking your company for a corporate donation as well!
The national event is on September 25 and CrossFit’s goal is to raise $2 million. Let’s do our part in the CrossFit community!
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Royce Gracie, UFC 111?!?!??!?!
Come join Royce Gracie and the Capital Jiu Jitsu family at Velocity 5 in Falls Church this Saturday Night March 27th, 2010. We will be arriving between 7-8pm. Velocity 5 will be showing UFC 111 so you must wear your Capital Jiu Jistu apparel to get in FREE! If you do not have CJJ apparel don’t worry, either buy a shirt or sweatshirt from one of our lovely front desk staff before you arrive or if you can not make it to the academy before Saturday night wear a white t-shirt and write Capital Jiu Jitsu on it. There will be food specials; $5.00 potato skins, onion rings, mozzarella sticks and nachos from 6-9pm. We will also have our own room/section so ask the hostess to escort you to the Capital Jiu Jitsu party. We look forward to see everyone Saturday night!
Velocity 5
8111 Lee Highway
Falls Church, VA 22042
(703) 207-9464
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Loudoun Academy 5K Run Map
Here’s a reminder of the running ‘map’ for the 5K from Loudoun CJJ:
-go out the side door of CJJ
-left on Overland Drive
-right on Pebble Run
-to dead end of Pebble Run
-back to Overland Dr.
-right on Overland Dr. to dead end
-back to Pebble Run
-right on Pebble Run
-go until Pebble Run hits 606/Old Ox Rd/Loudoun County Pkwy (all different names for same road)
-turn around and come back the EXACT same way you got there (go down all streets to dead ends again on the way back too)!
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Holiday Sale 2009!
20% OFF
ALL ITEMS!
December 1 – 23
The NEW tees and hoodies are HERE! And we are offering a 20% discount on EVERY item sold at Capital through December 2009.
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Discussion Wednesday – September 30th, 2009
Hey Guys,
Its discussion Wednesday and I wanted to use this video with Jeff Glover and Robert Drysdale because everyone here at Capital Jiu Jitsu started doing jiu jitsu for similar reasons as these great athletes but, some have a different reason.
Case and point, I have been fascinated with martial arts since I was in the first grade. I remember being a ninja for a few Halloweens and just liked jumping around the house, watching kung fu movies all the time but, never could take a class because I came from a poor family.
As I grew up I began reading books on martial arts and going over the age old, “which martial art is better” but, it wasn’t until I joined the US Army that I really felt at home with Jiu Jitsu. It was during basic training I experienced combatives week. We learned jiu jitsu and I still remember every technique that I was taught and after I was discharged it just kept this fire inside me until I came to Capital Jiu Jitsu a little over a year ago.
So, whats your story?
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Cutting Weight
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor. I am a fitness advocate, Marine Martial Arts Instructor, former Body Builder and Certified Fitness Trainer by ISSA. Any of the techniques listed below when used improperly can badly injure or kill you. Consult your doctor before beginning any weight cutting or fitness regimen.
Making weight has two phases. Long term and short term.
In the long term, weight and body composition change through training and diet. Regardless of your training/cross-training regimine (CrossFit, Body For Life, sparring, mixed, etc…) or diet (Zone, Body For Life, South Beach, etc…) your body will condition itself to the tasks that you present it.
Body Composition: Through training and diet muscle mass will be maintained or increase, and body fat will be maintained or decrease. Train hard, eat smart, and you will experience positive results. That being said, on fight day, if you are a man you want to be right around 10% body fat, and if you are a woman you want to be around 12% to 14% body fat. These body fat percentages tend to maximize performance for combat sports.
For the short term, we get away from improving overall body composition and address ‘cutting weight’. Why cut weight? Generally speaking, fighting a smaller guy is better than fighting a bigger guy. If you weigh in as a ‘smaller guy’ you will fight smaller guys, which means you will be more likely to win. Of course, everybody knows this, so, everybody cuts weight. At this point it becomes a question of:
1) How much can someone cut?
2) How much of a price will someone pay in PERFORMANCE?
As a serious competitor, cut the amount of weight required to weigh-in to achieve a size disparity between you and your opponent, WHILE preserving maximum athletic performance.
Before moving on, let’s summarize what we have so far. In the long term, change your body composition through training, cross-training and proper dieting. Then, in the short term, before a competition, ‘cut weight’ so that you weigh-in to a bracket/class below your actual weight. All the while preserving maximum athletic performance.
Planning to properly cut weight:
First, get your head right. What are you cutting weight for? Is this your first BJJ tourney? Your first MT match? Your first time ever trying to cut weight? Your second pro fight? What I’m saying is you need to make a risk/benefit analysis before you choose to cut. I’ve got a news flash for you… if you’re competing in a non-rated local blue belt tournament, and try to ‘cut a ton of weight’ to get into a lower bracket, you’re wasting your time. If this is your first amateur MMA fight, and you ‘cut a ton of weight’, you’re jeopardizing your performance to fight a slightly smaller guy. The trade off sucks. The way I look at it, if this fight isn’t your profession, or a stepping stone towards that, is DON’T try to cut a lot of weight.
Second, understand the timeline. How much time is there between your weigh-in and your competition. If it is more than about 20 to 24 hours then you can dabble in short term weight cutting. Anything less than that and I wouldn’t fool with it.
Third, you will need to practice. As with everything in the fight game, don’t ever use ‘new stuff’ on game day. No new punches, submissions, sweeps, strategies…. Do all of that during your work up. Cutting weight is the same way. The first time you cut weight should not be when it matters. PRACTICE FIRST! People respond differently to cutting, so figure out how you will respond before it matters or else you run the risk of flushing a perfect training cycle right down the crapper.
Fourth, understand your target. If you try to cut much more weight than 8% to 10% of your total bodyweight then you are entering dangerous territory. Not that you can’t get the weight off, but you may not be able to put the water back into your system before game time. Poor hydration means poor performance!
Fifth, know what will happen if you screw up. In the UFC fight between Travis Lutter and Anderson Silva (February 3, 2007), Lutter not only failed to make weight, he cut either too much or with improper technique. This resulted Silva submitting Lutter via triangle choke in round 2. I am convinced that Lutter failed to adequately and intelligently cut weight which resulted in him ‘running out of steam’. So, you must be careful as this is powerful magic.
The science of short term cutting weight:
Short term weight cutting takes place 1 week prior to your weigh-in. As you taper training, you ramp up cutting. This secret is to ‘trick’ your body into thinking that super hydration is the new norm. Then, when you stop drinking as much water, your body continues to urinate large amounts… and the weight just falls off.
Seven days prior to your weigh in, DOUBLE water intake and take in half your usual amount of sodium. I’m talking about 2-3 gallons of water per day (yes, it can be done), and eat less than 400mg of sodium in per day. This gets your system used to being super hydrated, while flushing sodium. (Sodium is bad because, as every chic in the world will tell you, it makes you retain water. Specifically, it makes you retain water in the subcutaneous layer between your muscle and skin.)
KEEP EATING! Stick with your normal diet for your work up.
Four days prior to your weigh in, keep your intake HIGH and cut sodium to minimum levels (less than 100mg per day). Also, start supplementing your diet with potassium. Take the recommended dose on a potassium supplement label. Do not get crazy with this, just take what is recommended.
KEEP EATING!
Three days prior to your weigh-in, cut your water intake in half (minimum of 1 gallon). Everything else stays the same.
KEEP EATING!
Two days prior to your weigh-in, cut water intake in half again (minimum of 64 oz). Everything else stays the same.
KEEP EATING!
One day prior to your weigh-in, cut water intake in half again (you will drink about 32 oz of water on this day). Everything else stays the same.
KEEP EATING! (You should be about halfway to your goal on this day).
On the day of your weigh-in, sip water ONLY. Also, IF REQUIRED, eat about half of what you were eating on every other day (keep protein up, this helps to draw water out of you).
Here are some final notes about weight cutting:
- Your weight loss will be gradual at first, and will become dramatic between 36 to 48 hours before your weigh-in.
- Do not freak out when you’re 3 days out and are still 10 lbs over weight. The night prior to weigh-ins you will lose a ridiculous amount of weight.
- If you are ON WEIGHT the day prior (or any other day), keep doing whatever it is that you’re doing. You need to be AT the prescribed weight for 1 minute during this whole fight work up…and that minute is the moment of weighing in. During every other minute you can be any weight you want.
- You will feel crappy for a couple of hours some time during the last 2 days of weight cutting. It should last only a few hours, probably right before you weigh in. If you feel very sick, drink water and have something to eat.
- If on the day of your weigh-in you are not even close, there are techniques you can use to lose additional water weight in a short period of time. I’ll list here some general categories, but will only address specific details in a face to face conversation. THESE WILL SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE THE DANGERS ASSOCIATED WITH WEIGHT CUTTING AND I DO NOT RECOMMEND THEM.
– Exercise
– Sweat Suits
– Saunas
– Stopping water intake for more than 24 hours
– Stopping food intake
The last step, rehydration!
Congratulations, you made weight! But you are dehydrated, so now what? Well, you need to put that water back on, and here’s how:
Right after weigh-ins, drink a Gatorade type drink (32 oz or so). Slug it down, sip it, whatever is comfortable. After this, treat rehydrating by eating and drinking in your usual way. Chugging water won’t rehydrate you faster, instead it will only pass through you. Drink and eat normally, that is all.
Keep up this normal eating and drinking until 2 hours prior to your competition. You should have an empty stomach when you compete (maybe a little water in there), and you should be hungry, but not starving. If you are starving, and you still have an hour before your competition, eat a banana or an apple. Comfortable hunger is the goal.
Everything in this article is a plan only. Considering how we are all different, the plan might need some tweaks to fit you. And that is why you MUST PRACTICE FIRST!
If at any point you pass out, shit your pants, or otherwise lose your ability to function, you did something wrong.
~by John James