Embracing the (MetCon) Addiction

 

Well then...DON'T!

True story:  The thought of doing this blog post came to me while I was in the middle of doing the (pain of the) named Crossfit workout called "Nancy". Apparently, I don't run fast enough to stop thinking.  I gotta work on that.

Back Story:  Recently, Jocelyn Forest, Crossfit games competitor and a well established Oly lifter, wrote an awesome article entitled Kicking the (metcon) Habit.  If you haven't read it, I highly suggest you do.  THIS article will be the antithesis to it, but not because one is needed (it's clearly not), but because I 100% agree with what Jocelyn says.  Kinda.

Embracing the MetCon Habit

It seems like there's been a bit of a backlash against "metabolic conditioning"; these things always seem to be in a pendulum, be it kettle bells (old school Russia!), 70's style powerlifting, or suspension training (my grandmother had one in her basement in 1975.  And it wasn't called a TRX).  Metcon, or what's better known as metabolic conditioning, is the catch-all, oft abused, always misunderstood label that Crossfit has adopted.  Oh, it was around before CF, but 'ol Greggy took it and ran (as fast as he could) with it.  It now, unofficially, is used to explain the format of training which effectively hits all energy pathways.  Don't send me email on that, either.  I'd just like to point out that is NOT my tag, baby.  The concern I have with the perceived backlash is that there's a boatload of folks who should not be leaving the boat.

Jocelyn does a kick-ass job of explaining, from her experiences why one should "kick" the metcon habit.  Hell, I've even seen the effects myself (not me, but in others).  I'd also like to point out a quote I've quoted before: "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results".  This will flick on a light bulb later.

I'm a big fan of metabolic conditioning.  Not only metcon, but the metcon format Crossfit uses.  BIG fan.  (I know, there's gasps in the crowd.  Stick with me, faithful readers.)  Why?  Shit works, bro.  And it works WELL.  You can take any type of athlete from any background and design a metabolic conditioning program or various movements at various intensities and time domains, and I'll guarantee they'll respond.  Now, there's a helluva lot of variables in there to as HOW an athlete will respond, proper programming being probably close to the top.  But you can NOT deny the fact that a new stimulus performed in short (20min/less) duration at high intensity is not going to positively affect work capacity.  In a GPP format.<---That's kinda key.

By GPP, I'm talking General Physical Preparedness, aka cardio, aka gas tank, aka endurance.  The vast majority of the people I see (let's call them "Generalists") never even come close to reaching the limit on their GPP.  Why?  I'll tell you why:
You take the Ten Domains of Fitness:

1. Cardiovascular/respiratory endurance

2. Stamina

3. Strength

4. Flexibility

5. Power

6. Speed

7. Agility

8. Balance

9. Coordination

10. Accuracy

And you couple that with the plethora of movements that Crossfit uses (KBS, OHS, C&J, Running, Jumping, Ring work, bar work, bodyweight movements in 8 different horizontal planes, plyometrics including skipping/double unders, uneven load movement {sandbags, unilateral lifts, odd object lifts}, Pulling....etc etc), and you have a nearly INFINITE combination of movements to master in all ten domains of fitness.  Despite what we want to believe, we are ALL stuck on the second level, folks.  In fact, there is no top end to that.  I agree with the hierarchy of the pyramid, but mastery does not come into play in S & C.

Now I want to clarify I'm still talking about Generalists.  When a MMA athlete or triathlete walks through the door, he/she is looking for something different.  They are top-of-the-pyramid people, and have different needs; aka "Specialists".  I've spoken about that before.  Periodization and Sport Specificity.

But back to Generalists.  When someone starts to hit the wall, shit the bed, throwing themselves out with the trash, or whatever, they do not "need to break the metcon addiction".  They do need to analyze what they are doing, what they are not doing, and why they are fucked up.  And, if they are over-reaching, having a coach identify it before it becomes a nasty pit of over-training and/or injury.I totally, 100% agree with Jocelyn here:  Doing More Isn't Always Better, If Ever.

The thing is, though, it's pretty damn rare an athlete gets there.  If you stop and actually think of the thousands of Crossfit affiliates, and the hundreds of thousands of members training each and every week, burnout, injury, and over-training are not epidemic.  In fact, it's pretty low.  I'm going to go back and re-visit my reasoning as to why:

There's so many domains and so many skillsets to work on that a vast majority of folks are ALWAYS working inefficient technique, and do not reach high enough intensity to overtrain.

Can you get to the point where Wall Ball Shots become a recovery movement and you're thinking of doing three-a-days instead of two-a-days?  Yes, congratulations on becoming a high-level strength and conditioning athlete to a stopwatch.  Now get a coach and work on sport specificity before you either get burnt out and switch to Oly lifting or run yourself into the ground. :)

Various Training

 June 22nd, CFLA, 1PM
"Nancy" 

5 Rds
400m run
15 OHS 95#
13:51.  Happy with the time, and the creative thought process that 400m sprints bring around.

June 28th, CFLA, 1PM
"300 "
25 pullups
50 deadlifts 135
50 pushups
50 box jumps 24"
50 floor wipers 135
50 1-arm KB clean and  press 35lbs         
25 pullups 
15:53.  Haven't done this one in literally years.  Nice grind.

June 28th, CFLA, 12PM

Snatch High Pulls to 175#

8 Rds, 200m run, 20 air squats, 1min rest

15:19.  True intervals.  Love 'em.

July 2nd, Firehall#1, 11AM

AMRAP 1 min, then 1/2 amount x5 rds

This was a circuit consisting of pullups, Goblet Squats, Situps, Deadlifts, and rowing.  We started with 5, but then 3 guys left on a EMS call.  I did 30/15/15/10/10 on the pullups, said "fuck that!" and then did the rest in a 1min circuit.  Following it up with some sets of 135# hang power clean/front squat complex.  FUBAR'd my right arm for the next week, couldn't straighten it out.  Weird.

July 7th, Lethbridge Coulees

16+km mountain bike

This was one of those "holy fuck I have to ride!" moments; I literally got up from the computer (working on nutrition stuff) and bolted.  Felt totally awesome.  Unfortunately, I *won't* be competing in the 24 Hours of Adrenaline again this year; I had to give up the spot on the team due to the fact I take possession of my new house that week.  Totally sucks, because the team is the bomb, and it's a crazy fun race.


July 8th, CFLA, 1PM

AMRAP 225# High Bar Back Squat w/ 7 Burpee Box Jump (20")

5 Rounds, max rest per round, untimed. 
Needed something to blast the legs, as my left arm was still fubar'd from a week ago from my pullup fiasco. Lack of sleep (3hrs total) left me NOT wanting to chase a clock.

20 Not-So-Random Points of Awesomeness

Not Really Random!

So to deviate from my typical trifecta format, I thought I'd just throw down some no-quite-random cool stuff, and in no particular order.  Lots of linky-links, so consider this Mike's version of "Rest Day" reading material, minus the political bullshit and pseudo-wannabe-cerebral totally ghey articles. 

1) Silver Patron Tequila: Seeing that's it's summer (well, somewhere), this is the drink of choice, and for good reason; it's a plant based distilled liquor with no dietary offenders (alcohol aside).  Made famous because it's just plain awesome, and even more so from Robb Wolf, via the soda/lime/tequila combo of the NorCal margarita.

2) PubMed:  A free online database from the United States National Library of Medicine.  It's quick.  It's easy.  It's geeky.  Type shit in, and get study abstracts back.  Do it while drinking a Norcal, and you're even cooler, 'cause you're getting drunk and smart as the same time.  

3) Snatch Balance:  One of the best transfer exercises to the Olympic snatch.  But please, if you plan on doing this, use a snatch grip (because it is a transfer exercise to the snatch.  There's an echo in here.)  Big yellow boobs don't omit you from this rule, even if you have an impressive snatch...balance.  :)

4) Volbeat:  This is what you get when you cross Metallica with the Rockabilly-style genre, and pop it down in Denmark.  Watch, listen, and enjoy:

5) SuperCentarians: What do you get when you cross someone over 110 and still in good health with a high degree of function?  A supercentarian.  Fuck super heroes, I want to be a supercentarian!

6) Rehband Knee Sleeves: I don't lift a ton of weight.  I don't weigh 70's big.  But holy shit do I ever love these sleeves.  My knees feel physically better after any sort of squat session, and mentally I'm confident I'm not going to blow a fucking kneecap across the gym.  More importantly, I need knees to be a supercentarian.

7) Crossfit Lethbridge at the Canada West Regionals: We had 6 athletes from our gym qualify and compete in the Regionals, with two placing top-5.  Is that badass?  Yes, it's baddass.

8) Google Reader: There's a boatload of great information out there in cyber-space; unfortunately, there's an unfathomable amount of trash to go through in the digital universe before you get to it.  Find a page you want to view again?  Subscribe to it via Google Reader.  Then deal with the issue of having too much good stuff to read later.

9) Catalyst Athletics: The mastermind of Greg Everett, who also publishes The Performance Menu.  I can't say enough good things about the information Greg offers.  Nearly everyday he pops up a "Collected Training" video, which is a goldmine of visual technical proficiency in Oly lifting.

10) Caffeine: You knew I'd post at least SOMETHING about it.  It's awesome, that's why.

11) Ben Greenfield Fitness Podcast:  There's a million podcasts out there.  Why would I listen to a endurance-base podcast from a triathlete?  Ben puts out some fairly sound info, I have endurance athletes as clients, and he does a pile of research for the questions he's asked.  While he's a triathlete, he also has competed in bodybuilding, and has solid credentials.  A nice break from Paleo-ville.

12) Pride Fighting Championship:  Some great things are not meant to last---Pride FC was one of them.  Without waxing and waning on about the good and bad, just watch this phenomenal highlight vid from Robert Park:

13) Cutting Down On Carbs for the General Public:  Has the general public finally got it?  I completely doubt it, and since the mass media fucks everything up, I'm not holding my breath.  But godamn, if this doesn't give a guy a bit of hope.

14) Bacon Explosion:  Wow.  Just...wow.

15) Blair Morrison: If there was ever an inspiring face for a Crossfit billboard, it'd be Blair.  But what *I* like most is his attitude and philosophy on and about fitness.  He's put up some pretty cool vids on his blog about training outdoors.  Here's the latest vid from Crossfit sponsor Reebok:


16) Annie Thorisdottir: Just like caffeine, it's addictive, too much will kill you, not enough will make you feel like crap, and it's powerful.   I'm sure Reebok has a highlight reel brewing for AnnieT, but in the meantime, there's this:


17) Inov8 Running Shoes:  Super light, flat, and just damn awesome.

18) Elevate Me Bars: Most bars are shit.  These are not.  While none will come even close to the quality of real whole food, these are pretty damn good.  Whey protein isolate as the first ingredient?  Organic fruit?  I'm in.

19) iPhone 4:  No joke here.  An item of awesomeness?  No kidding!  I seriously get more shit done, have been thee most organized ever in my whole life, and stay connected with peeps easier and faster than ever. 

20) Dynamic Nutrition, or a.k.a "Finally getting your shit together and getting serious about what you are doing to your body".  Yes, I'm pimping myself out on my Not-So-Random list of things and people that are awesome.  Want to be Blair?  Want to be Annie?  Want to be a SuperCentarian?  Your nutrition is one of the biggest pieces of the puzzle.

 

Random Training

I freely admit not taking my own advice; since the end of the CF Open, I have not faithfully tracked every single workout, even with my fancy-shmancy iPhone.  That being said, I've done some interesting WODs, thanks to the likes of CoryG and Jake:

May 15th, Firehall#1

5 Rounds

250m row

20# med ball situp

55# DB Swing

30# DB Push Press

Done in a circuit with 3 other guys; reps were based on how long it took the firefighter on the rower to row the 250.  Nice lil' Saturday burner.

May 16th, CFLA

Experimental Test WOD#1

For Time

1-10 ladder

1 Squat Clean to thrusters to back squat to rack jerk 95 lbs

1 Burpee

2 Squat Clean Complex, 2 Burpee, 3 Squat Clean complex, 3 Burpee, etc.

25+ min.  This was brutal and nasty, and I was literally sick for almost 2 weeks following this.  Will do again, for sure.

May 28th, CFLA

Throwdown Series WOD #4

AMRAP 9min

3 HSPU (3" Deficit)

6 Squat Snatch (95#)

9 Pullups

For your viewing pleasure: Mike vs Jason

May 30th, CFLA

"Jacob's Ladder"

1-10 Ladder for time
Burpee C2B Pull Ups

Overhead Squat 105/75

13:11; I need to re-do this, as I used a lower pullup bar, which pretty much eliminated the "jump" in the burpee.  Awesome wod, though, created by fellow CF'er Jake.

June 2nd, CFLA

Experimental Test WOD #2
4 Rounds For Time
135# Zercher Walk, 50'
10 HSPU
135# Zercher Walk, 50'
20 GHD situps
40 DUs
13:29.  Abs are still sore as of June 7th.

CF Open Review Part II, Snack Ideas (and a drink!), & Fasted Training

The Open Is Closed.

I had given a snippet of opinion in my last post regarding my thoughts on the Open; I suppose, for lack of a better or clever title, this would be Part 2.  I should have just spouted my thoughts after it was done and over, but I just couldn't help myself.  Anyhoo, my thoughts & personal experience:

6 WODs, 1 per week, over 6 Weeks, all AMRAPs (set time, "as many rounds(reps) as possible).  Click name for official description:

1) Double Unders/Power Snatch, AMRAP 10 mins: Liked this one, and wish I could have done it a few times.  I'll do it again.

2) Deadlift/Pushup/Box Jump, AMRAP 15 min: Brutal.  Do not want.  Did better than I thought, but once is enough.

3) Squat Clean & Jerk, AMRAP 5 min: The most disappointing WOD of the Games for me; tried twice with the same damn score.  I can't blame this on being 165# (weight was 165#), as super-human Chris Spealler ended up C&J'ing 165# THIRTY-TWO times in 5 minutes, at a BW of 145#. Will I do this again?  Does Dynamic Nutrition fuel human machines to performance levels unheard of?  Damn straight.

4) Burpee/OHS/Muscle Up, AMRAP 10min: Damn happy with this WOD; it's nice when the PR Gods throw an old dog a bone.  OHS felt good (best compliment I think I've ever heard that made me laugh: "Um, your, um, overhead squats were unexpectedly solid!"---that was a one-on-one comment as I was walking out the gym door that I'm pretty sure I'll never forget. *wink*), and I knew if I could get throw the OHS, I had a chance at some MUs.  Even though I'm happy, in hindsight, should have pushed for more.  Maybe a do again.  Maybe not.  Dynamic Nutrition athlete Jeremy Meredith, owner of Crossfit Vernon, crushed this with a massive 138 reps.

5) Clean/T2B/WBS, AMRAP 20 min: Brutalx100.  Do not want ever again.  20 minutes of grinding hell.  Props to the warriors that did this multiple times.  Even if I had a free week to dedicate to this WOD, I'd do what I did:  Do it, and say "fuck it, that's enough".  I'd also like to point out Dynamic Nutrition sponsored athlete Steve Howell from Crossfit Whistler destroyed this week's WOD for top spot with an insane 12 rounds + 5 cleans + 10 T2B + 4 WBS.

6) Thruster/Pullup, AMRAP 7 min: Painful, but I liked it, and I personally need to work more in this time domain.  I sprinkled some of the athletes I'm consulting with some interesting supplement advice to their benefit on this one.  Best local highlight reel?  Kris "Freight Train" Fraser doing it for the 3rd time in the 11th hour, because he had no choice.  Awesome display of heart, intensity, and desire.

So, all in all?  Positive experience.  Despite the repetitive format of the WODs, each one felt completely different.  The website issues seemed to continue, and the non-affiliate video submission controversy (Hey, it wouldn't be CF without a lil' controversy!) has yet, to my knowledge, to be dealt with.

Personally, I found the past 6 weeks extremely satisfying; I competed at a level I hadn't before, and while I'm always critical of my own performance, I grew as a Crossfitter.  As an affiliate, our crew became much, much tighter, if that's even possible.  People would drop what they were doing, skip work, and do whatever they could to make it to the gym to either get the WOD of the week done, or make sure another athlete had support.  THAT, to me, was the best part, hands down.

Our gym ended up with 6 people qualifying for Regionals (Heather G placing top 5!!!), and over twice that competing in the Open; for a smaller affiliate, I think this speaks volumes.  Unfortunately, I won't be able to make it to Vancouver due to my shiftwork schedule, but I'll be keeping a tight eye on it at the fire station!!!

Quick Snack Ideas

Here's a couple of quick and healthy snack ideas I've thrown out to some of my clients; I use both regularly, they are quick and easy, and most importantly, damn tasty!  One caveat is that they both use whey protein.  I'm currently using a whey protein isolate sweetened with stevia, versus most that have either Ace-K or Splenda.  Also of note is the fact I don't break down the macros---I do it for my clients to initially figure out what is what, but I don't do it for myself, nor do I advise it on a regular basis.  You shouldn't have to count REAL food!

• Krema Full-Fat Greek Yogurt
• Vanilla Whey Protein
• Organic Chia Seeds
• Cinnamon
• Mixed dry roasted nuts

A high-fat, high protein, low carb, extremely satiating snack!  Mix it all together in a bowl and enjoy.

•  Plain Canned Pumpkin
• Vanilla Whey Protein (I use 2 scoops, 60g pro)
• Organic Chia Seeds
• Cinnamon
• Mixed dry roasted nuts

Similar to the first, but lower in overall calories.  The chia seeds are a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids, albeit ALA; still, this balances the ratio of omega-6 from the nuts.  Pumpkin is a rich course of beta carotene and vitamin A, and the cinnamon in both enhances insulin sensitivity, as well as tasting awesome.

This drink is courtesy of fellow Crossfitter Jacob, who had us over for drinks during the last UFC event; while technically "Paleo", it's loaded with sugar.  The fix? Earn the carbs earlier in the day by crushing a metcon or two, and then enjoy guilt-free copious amounts of tasty

Wet Snatch!

• 5 parts chopped ice
• 3 parts Tequila (I recommend either Cabo Blanco or Silver Patron)
• 1 part Vanilla syrup
• 2 parts coconut milk
• 1 part raspberry juice
• 2 parts pineapple juice

Blend, drink, and then watch a one-eyed GSP smash a silly vegan for 5 rounds.

 

J Appl Physiol. 2011 Jan;110(1):236-45.

Beneficial metabolic adaptations due to endurance exercise training in the fasted state.

Van Proeyen K, Szlufcik K, Nielens H, Ramaekers M, Hespel P.

Source

Research Centre for Exercise and Health, Department of Biomedical Kinesiology, K. U. Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.

Abstract

Training with limited carbohydrate availability can stimulate adaptations in muscle cells to facilitate energy production via fat oxidation. Here we investigated the effect of consistent training in the fasted state, vs. training in the fed state, on muscle metabolism and substrate selection during fasted exercise. Twenty young male volunteers participated in a 6-wk endurance training program (1-1.5 h cycling at ∼70% Vo(₂max), 4 days/wk) while receiving isocaloric carbohydrate-rich diets. Half of the subjects trained in the fasted state (F; n = 10), while the others ingested ample carbohydrates before (∼160 g) and during (1 g·kg body wt⁻¹·h⁻¹) the training sessions (CHO; n = 10). The training similarly increased Vo(₂max) (+9%) and performance in a 60-min simulated time trial (+8%) in both groups (P < 0.01). Metabolic measurements were made during a 2-h constant-load exercise bout in the fasted state at ∼65% pretraining Vo(₂max). In F, exercise-induced intramyocellular lipid (IMCL) breakdown was enhanced in type I fibers (P < 0.05) and tended to be increased in type IIa fibers (P = 0.07). Training did not affect IMCL breakdown in CHO. In addition, F (+21%) increased the exercise intensity corresponding to the maximal rate of fat oxidation more than did CHO (+6%) (P < 0.05). Furthermore, maximal citrate synthase (+47%) and β-hydroxyacyl coenzyme A dehydrogenase (+34%) activity was significantly upregulated in F (P < 0.05) but not in CHO. Also, only F prevented the development exercise-induced drop in blood glucose concentration (P < 0.05).
In conclusion, F is more effective than CHO to increase muscular oxidative capacity and at the same time enhances exercise-induced net IMCL degradation. In addition, F but not CHO prevented drop of blood glucose concentration during fasting exercise.

My Thoughts:  This is just a drop in the bucket of some of the interesting studies done on fasted training; I incorporate this in SOME of the athletes I see, but only a specific subset---by no means is it for everyone.   The chance of sabotaging your training gains and tipping from over-reaching into over-training, or worse, true adrenal fatigue, is much greater once IF (intermittent fasting) and fasted training are incorporated.  That being said, for the proper athlete, it makes a lot of sense.

My Current Training

So in my last blog post, I didn't add any of my current training sessions; I DID do a call out looking for either a:

"Yes, continue to add them in, it's either useful or interesting"

or 

"No, don't bother, your training is boring as shit"

I didn't get any responses, so I'm asking for some input a second time around.  Don't be hesitant, I have thick skin.  Call it like you see it. :)

As you can guess, though, up until recently most of what I had been doing for 2011 was typically CFLA programming, and for the past 6 weeks, my sessions have revolved around the CF Open.  Now that THAT'S over, I'll be focused on:

• Getting back to a 5/3/1 Strength Bias, as before, concentrating on Front Squat, Deadlift, Overhead Press, and the Olympic lifts (Clean & Jerk, Snatch), and all variations.
• Biking, both road and mountain.  I want to be more prepared for the 24 Hours Of Adrenaline this year---plus, I just want to be outside more.
• Rock Climbing:  Got a small taste of Southern Alberta rock last week, and I see more in store.