“For years I went from one fad diet to the next trying to find that miracle “quick fix.” By the time I hit my heaviest weight of 230 lbs. I had tried every possible diet out there with nothing to show for it. All the yo-yo dieting put a strain on my health and I was back at square 1, but even heavier than when I started. I finally realized that in order for me to get fit, I needed to commit to something. So, I settled on Weight Watchers. This by far was the only “diet” plan I was able to actually live with. As the weeks turned into months and the weight was melting off my body I started to really feel good about myself again.  It was a great jump start to my weight loss journey, but it wasn’t until I started Crossfit that I started noticing it was lacking in some way.

Naturally, I heard about Paleo through Crossfit so I started reading up on it. I was definitely intrigued by what I read and it made sense, but I was still a little on the fence about some things, especially going completely grain free. When I heard about the challenge I thought, what better way to try it out? I mean how hard could it be, its only 45 days right? Plus, I was hearing a lot of great feed back from people that have done the challenge before and because it was a challenge it would keep me motivated to stay on track. I was a little nervous, but with some persuasion from friends I decided to go for it. I thought it would come easy to me since I was already eating relatively clean, or so I thought.

The first thing I quickly realized was how many foods have sugar in it! I felt so overwhelmed with what I thought was the lack of food choices to choose from that I wondered, what the hell am I going to eat for the next 45 days?! But, I had already committed to this so I was determined to find a way. The first day, I’ll admit, was pretty hard for me. In fact the first three days were rough. I’m a big coffee drinker and every morning I could not funtion unless I had my cup of coffee with 3 splendas and half & half cream. So, switching from sweet and creamy coffee to just plain black was a huge hurdle. I tried some recipes to make my morning cup of coffee more tasty, but nothing tasted good enough. So for the first week and a half I just didn’t drink it at all. It was hard! I was feeling sluggish, tired, and maybe a little cranky to put it lightly. Don’t get discouraged! Keep reading.

After the initial “detox” phase,  I started noticing how much better I slept at night and how much more alert I was in the morning. I felt so refreshed in the morning that I didn’t even need caffiene to “wake up” (although I did take to drinking black coffee, and actually liked it, the second week in).  Prior to the challenge I was the type of person that needed a pick-me-up at around 2pm. However, I found that my energy levels stayed consistent throughout the day as well. And, this is going to sound strange, but I just FELT so much cleaner.

Another thing I noticed while on the challenge, was how I felt during my wods. I could feel myself getting stronger and was hitting a new PR almost every week plus losing weight. In the span of a week I increased my deadlift from a max of 190 lbs. to 205 lbs and was able to PR my backsquat from 125 lbs. to 155 lbs. just to name a couple. It was an amazing feeling! The best part was for the first time since I could remember I didn’t have to count calories or points. All I had to do was eat!

Towards the middle of the challenge my weight loss slowed, but my overall performance and energy were still at peak levels. I was finally letting go of the number on the scale. Now that I felt healthier and stronger, I didnt need the scale to define me. I was defined by how good I felt because of the foods I ate and how well I performed everytime I did a wod. Freeing myself from the chains of the scale was so satisfying.

This challenge taught me a valuable lesson about how I viewed food. When I was on Weight Watchers, yeah I lost weight, but I wasn’t fueling my body the way I should have been. I could eat anything I wanted, no matter how bad,  as long as it was within my alloted points for the day. It wasnt actually teaching me anything. The challenge forced me to look at my foods and experiment. I learned what foods to eat before a wod and the best time to eat certain foods for maximum muscle recovery. Food became fuel instead of just a means to an end. Simply put, I eat to exercise not exercise to eat.

Going into this challenge I was excited to see how Paleo was going to transform my body, but I was in no way prepared for the amazing results. In 45 days I dropped 12 lbs, 1 pant size, and 3 overall inches! Before the final measurements I knew that my body had changed just based on how I felt and how my clothes fit, but it wasn’t until I seen my before and after pictures that I was truly blown away. This journey has been nothing short of amazing and I don’t plan on ever going back. Paleo changed my life. Plain and simple. To me it’s not a “diet” that will give me great results for a short amount of time. It’s a lifestyle that allows me to be a better, healthier, person for the long haul. Plus, I can eat bacon…who wouldn’t love that?! Primal for life, baby!!”

Chenoa

As head coach of CrossFit Kailua I watched a facility come together for one hour of the week to cheer on those athletes brave enough to throw down! I enjoyed the 2013 CrossFit Open Season and believe everyone should be highlighted for his or her efforts.

TEAM CROSSFIT KAILUA

Team CFK was so close to qualifying for the 2013 Regionals, just five places shy of top thirty. Nonetheless Team CFK placed 35 out of 154 teams! I am proud of all the individuals who gave everything they had! Here are a few picture highlights.

TEAM CFK Members!

Matt Kubick represented as the youngest member of Team CFK (age 20).

Carlos Martinez and Rob Hall had epic battles in every workout! Throwing down muscle ups like nothing!

Levi Daniels ended up placing 78th in Norcal!

Heather Luther working her pre-workout mobility.

Justin Wright represented with his first CF Open participation.

Jenna McDonald making quick work of her Wallballs despite having an unfair height disadvantage

I am proud of anyone and everyone who did the Open. I am proud of Team CFO, CFKB and CFK! Way to represent our CFO family and Hawaii! Keep training hard and come back stronger. Anyone who didn’t participate this year, make your epic debut next year.

See you guys at the 2013 NORCAL REGIONALS!

DIRTY Alvarez

I didn’t feel the need to register for the Open because I had the “I won’t make regionals or the Games anyways” attitude, but through constant encouragement I heard from fellow crossfitters, I realized that this was more about my own personal accommplishments and the thrill of competing with people in my age group (Masters 45-49…yes, I’m that old) not just Regionally, but Worldwide.

I had no idea what to expect for the first WOD announcement. I was so nervous and didn’t even think for a second that a person of my size at 4’11″ and 94lbs would have to be lifing the exact same weight as the 2-time Fittest Women in World, Iceland Annie. Then I see 13.1. Wait…WHAT?! Me, snatch 45# and then 75#?! The most I ever snatched in a WOD was 35#. All I kept saying was, “I can’t do this”. But everyone kept encouraging me. Telling me to try…and that is one of the reasons I love coming to CFO. It’s like your family giving you so much support and making you feel like you can do anything. So I did what I always do every Wednesday when I hear the WOD annoucements. I go to CFO and I practice. I practice not only attempting to lift weights that I have never done, but I practice my confidence…turning “I can’t do this” to “I’m gonna do this and I’m gonna do the best I can”. For the past 3 Open Wods, I have been forced to challenge myself and with each one, I have accomplished PRs. It’s the greatest feeling.

I’m not gonna lie… I look at the leaderboard a lot. Quiet often, actually. I like to see where I rank amongst women in my age group. How many reps did I do more or less than them versus how much taller and heavier they are than me. Gives me an idea of how much harder I should try or should have tried. You also get a sense of other people’s strengths and weaknesses. Like how is it that some of the women at my age can get way more reps in 13.1 and 13.2 lifting 75# + and yet little ‘ol me had way more 14# wallball reps than them?! Makes you wonder and keeps you in competition mode until the next Open WOD announcement.

This May makes 2 years for me at CFO. I went from struggling at FGB with a 25# press to doing a 75# clean and split jerk which I only accomplished because of Open WOD 13.2. I’ve learned that it’s gonna be heavy, it’s gonna hurt, but you have to try and be confident. Keep pushing yourself to do better for nobody but yourself. Yah, it’s always nice to have someone you can compare yourself to and compete with, but in the end it’s all about what you were able to accomplish so it gives you drive to strive for a bigger goal.

Not only has crossfit made me a stronger person, it has changed my life in so many other ways. After my first year at CFO, I was able to do the Great Aloha Run (8.2 miles) straight without stopping. Something I have never done in the many times I’ve done it and I was able to do it again this year along with coming in under an hour at the Women’s 10K for the first time in the many times I’ve run it. Crossfit has changed my thinking on nutrition as well. Paleo is not a diet…it’s an awesome and amazing lifestyle that I never believed in until I entered the Nutrition Challenge in January. I believe Paleo has helped me a lot with my energy and strength. I love crossfit so much that I enrolled myself in Coach Largo’s PTI classes every Tuesday and Thursday, which I call “2-a-days” because I still like going to my usual 6pm WODs on those days. That class has helped me to go a little heavier and do more and more reps which also has been a huge help during the Open.

One goal I have my eye and heart set on is a muscle up…on the rings and bar. Currently I’m on the board at CFO for 80 consecutive DUs, but i have a dream to someday have my name under a benchmark or Hero WOD. Gonna dream big and try not to let the numbers discourage me no matter how small or old I am.

-Dre B.

Our fourth location CrossFit Kaneohe has been open for six months now and being new to CrossFit , the “Open” wasn’t an easy sell. The idea of handing over $20 just to participate didn’t resonate with our members initially. With a lot of encouraging, poking and proding we had 16 members sign up! Since 13.1…a spark has been lit and we’ve created mini WOD monsters. And much more WOD memories that we will always talk about!

So far KBay’s CF Open experience can be summed up by these statements:

“When I first heard about the open, I immediately dismissed it as beyond my abilities and thought maybe I’d do it next year. Then I realized that every WOD is a competition with myself. To go faster, longer, stronger, heavier, whatever. So I figured why not sign up for the open and see how I stack up against others. Plus next year I’m going to kill the open and I’ll be able to compare to this year.”- Florence Hulihee, Masters 50-54

“So far my experience with the Open has been about what I expected. I knew there would be limits to what I could do, but that I would try to push myself as hard as my body would let me. I’ve actually surprised myself a few times and it’s made me much more confident in my abilities… My favorite moment of the Open so far was when I PR’d on my power snatch in 13.1. I knew that 75# was completely doable for me and that it was all in my head, but I’d been struggling getting past that weight for a while. In the last few seconds of the final round, I got that 1 rep!”
– Sarah Grosjean

“I definitely love the way the gym conducts the workouts. Hearing the victory of ending the wod and the PR’s being set, that’s awesome!!” - Dianna Whittington, Masters 45-49

“My favorite moment of the open, I have 2. The first is seeing everyone come together Saturday mornings and do the WOD together, watching the ones who hesitated to sign up do better than they ever dreamed AND, doing better on the first 2 WOD’s than I did last year.” - Stephanie Grams

Celebrate your CrossFit journey in the CF Open and your entire box will celebrate your successes with you! If you didn’t sign up this year, 2014 should be your goal. The biggest winners in the Open are not the top level athletes who go to the games. The biggest winner is you! You are better, stronger, faster and more capable than you were yesterday. ­­

We all have seen the amazing crossfit videos. You know the ones where they are flipping big tracker tires, doing handstand pushup on the rings, lots of yelling and everyone has rock hard bodies with six pack abs. Intimidated, it took me more than a year to walk into CrossFit Oahu, but I’m glad I did. I thought if I’m going to in pain the rest of my life, I should at least be healthier and in pain.

After doing the free intro workout with Coach Dan, I knew crossfit was for me. I signed up for a one on one element class. Mainly because I was too embarrassed about how out of shape I was. I did not want to slow anyone down because this fat old guy needed extra help. During the elements class, Coach Dan told me about the Paelo diet and the challenges held at the gym. I felt this was something I also needed.

I was so excited about this new way of life; my wife (Diane) joined crossfit the following month. She is still in the Air Force and wanted to get into shape and maintain the level of physical fitness required by military standards. Though we experience muscle growth and increased power the layer of fat stayed and our endurance was lacking.

Our first Paleo challenge was Primal Potential August 2012. We had to relearn to how to choose fresh fruits and vegetables, map out a new attack plan for grocery shopping, and make time allowances for repeated trips. Let me explain from the last point to the first. We went from a family who ate out 2-3 times a week with daily consumption of prepackaged food to a Paleo family. We couldn’t be lazy about our food and had to plan and execute proper meals. Flavored Coffee Creamers were replaced by coconut milk. Daily meals of rice/noodles were replaced by acorn squash, spaghetti squash, potatoes and the previously rarely seen selection of vegetables.

Back when we went to the grocery store, about once a month, we would travel each aisle and grab whatever appealed to us be it cookies, chips, pizza, or ice cream (the usual). Now we shop every week, often going to the local store daily for fresh fruit, vegetables, milk, eggs, meat, and fish. We don’t bother going down the middle sections of stores since all the fresh stuff is normally located by the outer walls. Amazing how many of our previous favorite grocery items listed sugar as an ingredient.

I think one of the secrets to success with Paleo is we told everyone what we we’re doing. Every time there is a new challenge, all of my coworkers knew about it and I encourage them to try it.

Diane weighed around 170 pounds with a waist measurement close to the max allowed by the Air Force. Run times for a mile and a half were also abysmal; she failed her physical fitness test because she had not met the maximum time limit. After three Paleo challenges she weighs 152 pounds and beat the max 1.5 mile run time limit by more than 2 minutes. Strength-wise her personal record increased from 25 pound clean and jerks to RX weight. She lost over 10 inches from hip, waist and bust, dropping four dress sizes.

I weighed about 225-230 pounds last year with 20+% body fat. After three Paleo challenges I weigh 185 pounds and 14% body fat. I used to struggle to accomplish one pull up with the largest size rubber band, but now I can do strict-unassisted pull ups. I consistently do the WOD’s at AV and sometimes RX. I no longer have a goal weight, which is just a number. My new goal is increase my fitness level and accomplish six pack ads. As for my pain, it has gotten much better. I’ve heard that exercise can help with pain management but I never really believed it, until now. I still have some pain and that may never go away. But, I am no longer a slave to pills.

Cross Fit and Paleo has made such an impact on my life, that my wife, son and I are now lifetime members of CFO.

Do you hear it? Do you feel it? The CrossFit Games buzz is thick, at this point, all across the planet. Quite the astonishing feat, considering the first official CrossFit Games was held in 2007. For a lot of folks, competitive CrossFit is as interesting as watching a washing machine operate (yes, I used to do this as a child), and that’s totally cool. CrossFit was, and primarily is, a general strength and conditioning program. A fun place to workout, meet super-rad people, and do something exciting. Our focus will always be on helping people get healthy and having fun, but it’s always awesome having the option to pursue competitive endeavors. The thing is, participating in the Open workouts are just plain FUN. It’s pretty cool being a part of something this massive (100,000+ registered for the Open this year). Do it for fun, do it for serious, it’s all good, it’s just another workout.

With that being said, I’ve had the unique opportunity to watch the evolution of what humans can do in workouts. To quote Dan from our last blog “Each year the event is a more and more challenging test of overall fitness, and the athletes that compete have been raising the level of competition to new heights. According to CrossFit Games.com, “The average Games athlete in 2012 will be dramatically more capable than the world’s best in 2007.”

I’d like to share my example of how far things have come and evolved. Take a look at the workout in that image. That was my first competitive CrossFit workout back in 2005. It took me over 20 minutes to complete, and was the most brutal thing I’d ever done. The fastest times were clocking in around 11 minutes, with the average being around 15 minutes, and the heaviest deadlift was 415#. I’d never seen anything like it before. Fast forward to today, and this workout would be a lovely warmup for a top-level CrossFit athlete. Not sure if the evolution of spear tossing has changed much though, so that’s likely to be the X-factor.

A few years later, CrossFit Oahu hosted the CrossFit Sectionals (this was before the Open format), and that was a tizzy! At the time, each region was allowed to create the workouts for the competitors. Top folks would move onto Regionals. Master BP created waves across the CrossFit community with his unique, and at the time, unheard of use of multi-day, multi-workout events. Intermixed with the traditional workouts were ‘Skill Events’, much like the Rx Checklist. Total of five workouts over two days. The final workout after two full days of rockin’? The Gauntlet. With a 30 minute cap, we had to do Jackie (1000m row + 50 thrusters + 30 pull-ups) immediately followed by Karabel (10 rounds 3 snatches/15 wall ball) immediately followed with as many reps possible as in the remaining time of Cindy (5 pull-ups/10 push-ups/15 squats). We thought this was lunacy, insanity, and inhumane. Of course we all did it, loved it, and wanted more. Check out the video recaps!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

A quick review of the last few years CrossFit Open/Regionals/Games workouts and it’s pretty clear that what we considered lunacy, insanity, and inhumane just a few years ago, is the new standard. It’ll be really interesting to see how far human performance will go over the next few years. *fist pump* competitive exercise *fist pump*

Juggs

Over the years, we have seen a lot of changes surrounding the CrossFit Games. They have been held every summer since 2007 and participation, sponsorship, and prize money have grown rapidly since that time. In 2007, 2008, and 2009, the prize money for first place was $500, $1,500, and $5,000, respectively. In 2010, PROGENEX sponsored a purse of $25,000 each for the male and female champions. And in 2011, Reebok, the current sponsor of the CrossFit Games, increased the total purse to $1,000,000, with $250,000 each for the male and female champions.

Each year the event is a more and more challenging test of overall fitness, and the athletes that compete have been raising the level of competition to new heights. According to CrossFit Games.com, “The average Games athlete in 2012 will be dramatically more capable than the world’s best in 2007.”

Throughout this time, the faces in the winners circle at the CrossFit Games have certainly changed, as well:

At the inaugural CrossFit Games in Aromas, CA in 2007, the first place winners were James “OPT” Fitzgerald for the men, and Jolie Gentry for the women.

At the 2008 Games in Aromas, the male champion was newcomer Jason Khalipa and the female champion was Caity Matter.

The 2009 Games in Aromas saw Mikko Salo win for the men, and Tanya Wagner take first overall for the women.

2010 was the first year the Games were held in Carson, CA in the Home Depot Center, and we saw Graham Holmberg win for the men, and Kristan Clever take first for the women.

2011 Games brought new champions, with Rich Froning, Jr. taking over in first for the men, and Anníe Thórisdóttir sliding into the top spot for the women.

2012 The crossfit community saw 2 repeat champions for the first time, Rich Frining Jr. for the men and Annie Thorisdottir for the women.

Who are your predictions for the 2013 Mens and Womens Champions?

Down 20 lbs, 6 inches & 2% body fat in 45 days

Challenges of the Challenge:
Birthday
Super Bowl
Mainland Visitors
CrossFit Prom
Bachelor Party in Vegas

“I would like to focus on these things first.  Why?  Because I, like probably most people, rationalize a lot of the bad decisions we make especially when it comes to nutrition.  But it’s my birthday!  I NEED to have some cake and beer.  But it’s the Super Bowl!  The whole point of the Super Bowl is to eat crappy food and drink lots of beer.  And hey, my wife’s team is actually playing.  But my parents are visiting from the mainland!  I have to take them out to all of my favorite restaurants if they want to have a good time.  And they don’t eat the way we do, so we will need to have bad food in the house.  But my buddy is getting married and I am the best man AND we are going to Vegas!  Okay, I cheated on that one.

The difference in this challenge (and I have been on a bunch of them where I started strong and failed early) is that I rationalized why I shouldn’t eat like crap for these “special” occasions.  For instance, my birthday?  There will be another one next year.  Same story for the Super Bowl and Prom.  As for my parents?  Do I really need to eat crap for THEM to have a good time?  Absolutely not.  They showed up about two weeks into the Challenge.  And much like I had to eat what they put in front of me as a kid, they had to eat what I put in front of them.  Except they REALLY liked what I put in front of them: grass fed tenderloin with grilled portabella mushrooms, chicken pot pie with a cauliflower crust, Smoky Bacon Chili, etc.  One highlight of their trip was their absolute NEED to have ice cream (which is consequently STILL in our freezer).  They actually made themselves a bowl of ice cream and were sneaking out the back door to eat it when I had to explain to them that I wasn’t craving the crap they were about to eat (it was low fat yogurt… what a loss) and they could eat it front of me and shouldn’t feel guilty.

What about Vegas you ask? My best friend is only getting married once (that I am aware of) and we were going to send him off right.  Did the scale and the tape measure tell me that I took a few steps backward over the course of the weekend?  Absolutely.  But now I have a really good idea what a liberal dose of alcohol will do to my body and lasts for almost an entire week.

So in essence, the mindset is already a victory.  Had I lost zero weight, this new found ability to eat healthy without sabotaging myself or my wife and live a more active lifestyle at the same time has been more than worth the price of admission.  Because now that the challenge is over, I have no desire to stop eating this way.  I have no desire or craving to eat the 11 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies that are sitting on my living room table.  It is a complete shift away from making excuses: “I know how to eat right; I just can’t seem to do it.” All of that being said, I started out over 221.0 lbs.  This morning, I weighed 203.3 lbs.  My waist has gone from over 39 inches down to 35.8 inches.  Before I left for the Vegas bachelor party, I was down to 201.5 lbs.  When I reluctantly weighed myself Monday morning, I was at 206.2 lbs.  Sure, a lot of this, maybe even most of it, was water, but it has taken an entire week for my body to recover like I’ve already mentioned.  But if I had a
“cheat” meal every Saturday that involved enough alcohol to get me drunk, it suddenly makes sense why I would never lose weight or fat. Clothes I wore when I graduated from college fit.  Clothes I have been wearing for the past couple of years don’t.

When it comes to Strength there are three lifts: Back Squat, Press and Deadlift. Increasing any one of these means you are getting stronger. The heavier your Back Squat/Press/Deadlift are the easier other lifts are going to feel. So before you go dangling KBs/ adding chains to your bar I suggest you develop a solid Strength foundation. Wondering if you have one? Check your strength on Rippetoe’s Strength Chart. If you are not intermediate to advanced there is no need to get fancy.

Programming Strength gets a little more complex. The simplest of programs and most effective are ones that use
the concept of Progressive Overload.

Progressive Overload is the gradual increase of stress placed upon the body during exercise training.
A common goal for strength-training programs is to increase or to maintain one’s physical strength or muscle mass. In order to achieve more strength as opposed to maintaining the current strength capacity, the muscles need to be overloaded which stimulates the natural, adaptive processes of the body which develops to cope with the new demands placed on it.

Whenever using the PO method just start a comfortable weight and increase (5×5 would be the easiest rep scheme). If you really want to get into programming for yourself check out the books Starting Strength and Practical Programming by Mark Rippetoe. Starting Strength gives you a template to follow and Practical Programming talks more about programming in general.

It’s easy to get caught up in all the “fancy” training out there. I believe the easiest and most effective Strength Programs are the Basic ones. Develop a solid strength foundation emphasizing the three basic strength lifts and you will find yourself crushing WODs and taking names.

stay strong
Erik “Dirty” Alvarez

Down 24 lbs, 10+ inches and 4% bodyfat in 45 days