I'm a CrossFitter. There it is. I admit it. Now the secret is out there.
Am I as good most of those C'f'ers around me? (C'f'er is my own slang, not standard, btw) No way. Do I try? I could do better. Am I an avid CrossFitter? Compared to some: very. Compared to others: not at all. But whatever. Like with all things in life, I'm a work in progress. And, that's just the way I like it.
CrossFit is an emerging phenom as far as household names are concerned. On a scale of 1 (which is: wtf?) to 10 (I love that crap and I tell everyone about it!), it is, in my estimation at a national 6 (brief confused look followed by, "Oh yeah! I think I saw those guys doing something like that on ESPN. Man, they're crazy!).
To define but not belabor it, CrossFit is a universally scalable fitness philosophy meant to increase a person's overall athleticism. It's about the whole person who is both a developer of and developed by a CrossFit community (usually their Box - CrossFit lingo for what most people call their "gym" and the people whom they CrossFit with in it).
Greg Glassman started it all and the first affiliate was born just 10 years ago. Now, there are 3,000 affiliates worldwide (like the one Sam, Jolene, and I just opened in Athens, Ohio - CrossFit SEO). Now, Reebok owns a huge piece of the CrossFit brand and it's beginning to emerge as a mainstream trend. This is interesting because CrossFit was started as a counter-culture to all things mainstream. We'll see how this goes.
Now that you've had a little snoozer of a history lesson, I digress to the point of this blog: why the hell do I, as well as many if not most avid CrossFitters, eat like this?
There are 3 main reasons:
1. Overall health
2. Fuel efficiency and overall athletic performance
3. Because we can
4. Because we're awesome
5. Commitment to being beyond mainstream.
I know you automatically look at 3 and 4 and think I have discredited myself immediately. Fair enough; however, I can prove 3 and 4, whereas 1 and 2 and muddied in emerging, yet inclusive science and subjectivity. If you know me, you already know it's true. There's no cure for it.
Let's briefly explore. Here, take my hand.
1. Overall health.
- If you've read my other blog about how Paleo = Possibilities (get it? Paleobilities? It's a portmanteau of the two words "Paleolithic" and Possibilities.....Okay, maybe you didn't really need that explanation. Maybe I just wanted to use the word "portmanteau" which is a combination of the words "I-have-no-f'ing-clue-what-this-words-means") Wow, long aside. Let's go back.
If you've read my other blog about how Paleo=Possiblities, then you'll see that people living a committed Paleo lifestyle are experiencing true health benefits, including lower cholesterol, lower blood sugar, lower triglycerides, body fat, etc. I am one of those people. So are the other people I know who do this and get their blood drawn
2. CrossFit can make you burn through your body's energy and reach fatigue very quickly. On some of our crazier days (meant for the avid C'fers, we can do as many as 100 pull-ups, 150 push-ups, 200 sit-ups, and 250 squats in around 20 minutes. Meanwhile, that dude at the gym is still staring at himself in the mirror after doing 10 bicep vanity curls. We need energy and we need our body's to perform aerobically as much as possible. A fully committed Paleo diet offers your body this option by using ketones and fat as fuel rather than glycogen stores from the liver and muscles.
Personally, I feel a huge difference. And, let me tell you, when you're busting your ass in a WOD (workout-of-the-day), you don't have the ability to make up a placebo effect. You're either physically better or not.
3. CrossFit people become disciples of their own personal discipline. They are not addicted to looking a certain way or closing themselves off to others (think of the territorial gal at the local gym and "her treadmill" or the guy who lays his sweat rag on a bench like he's pissing on his tree). CrossFit folks are, instead, addicted to accomplishment and results. These vary by person. But, with a combination of good nutrition and good functional fitness, it's PROVEN.
4. We're awesome. (<--- notice the period)
5. It is not yet mainstream to consider grass-fed, uncured, and naturally raised animal products. Very few people, including myself buy the majority of their meat from local grass-fed producers; however, in the CrossFit community, as true to form as its counter-culture revolution, people challenge themselves so much that they readily know that if you put shit in, you get shit out.
GRASS-FED SIDE NOTE: Make sure to ask your local farmer's market grass-fed meat hocker if their grass-fed beef is "grass" or "corn" finished. I'm finding more often than not that grass-fed beef is usually corn finished, with a few exceptions. If they say "I don't know" (which has happened to me), say thank-you and keep moving. They are numbskulls.
Also, watch out for "vegetarian-fed" beef. It's a marketing gimmick to trick you into thinking that you are eating a healthier meat. Think about it, when's the last time you bought "beef-fed-beef?" If you see a cow grilling a burger, please call me. Otherwise, don't be a numbskull.
