UNCIRCUMCISED IN AMERICA

"you going to do what?!"

Skill:  250 du's in 12min

 

SWOD: 3 sets of 10 front squat @ 205# (all the weight I have at the house) will hold off on this until tomorrow.

DWOD 1: 

Angie (100 pullups, 100 pushups, 100 situps, 100 squats) did a half Angie in 6:10

 space these wods out roughly 3hrs apart if you can....  

DWOD 2:

'Fat Nancy' 14 minutes!  unbroken, a confidence booster!

5rds 

15 OHS at 95#,

400m run.... is rx'd, but I will increase the OHS weight to 135#

space these wods out roughly 3hrs apart if you can....  

Cool Down:

4 sets of max distance handstand walking..(goal is to get beyond 20') tomorrow

 "I don't think so!"

**WARNING**  The following article has some explicit language

http://www.madatoms.com/site/blog/uncirumcised-in-america, Writer: Jacob Harper

LIVING THE DREAM

UNCIRCUMCISED IN AMERICA

I'm a typical American male save one thing: my dick. Thanks to my hippie parents, I'm uncircumcised. But I’m not resentful about it. I’m proud. I have to be.  Because being “Whole in America” isn’t always easy. Growing up I always wondered why I was so unlike the other boys, why my penis looked like "a pink doggy dick," as some helpful elementary school friends pointed out. I was confused by my own body, not knowing what God I offended as to be born with a foreskin.  I’ve gotten older, learned the facts and come to not be ashamed of the complete package. I’ve learned to love it. But even as an adult, I will never fail to be reminded I’m not the norm. "You're uncircumcised!" my lucky partner says after the Big Reveal. "I haven't seen that since I stayed in that German hostel!"  It’s easy to brush off, but it always gets me thinking about how different we “Whole in America” are. The world over, being uncut is nothing special. But in America, when you’re Whole you're the other cock. You're the freaky hooded minority.  When you think about it, it’s really strange. How’d we get here? Why are the majority of American men circumcised?  A common reason given is “circumcised penises are cleaner,” for which I have two words: wash your fucking dick.  Other bullshit: “It’s just the norm,” or the absolute worst, “I don’t want him to look weird,” like a foreskin is nerdy corrective headgear on a dick. If you couldn’t tell, those are all excuses prospective American mothers give me when talking about having their kids circumcised.  It’s almost never men making the decision about their own cocks; those tips were snipped way before the men could have a say. Men in America are circumcised because their mothers wanted their cock to look a certain way. Think about that: a country of dicks sculpted on orders from Mommy. But unlike the bad haircuts Moms give, dicks don’t eventually grow out.  “Have you ever thought about getting circumcised?” I’ve been asked by women. To that, I have a question: have you thought of getting a nipple removed? Because we men prefer a smooth breast. Besides, it is just a little tip, not to mention it just looks better. I’m making a joke, but I’m making a point too (not to mention that most of the Whole like all that bitchin’ penile sensitivity.)  In short: fuck fashionable infant circumcision, the sending off of newborns to get their dicks trimmed of “extra skin” to basically make their genitalia more aerodynamic.  What it ultimately comes down to is that America, as a society, carves up baby weiners because it’s trendy. It needs to stop. For the first time in my life, I’m saying, “Hands off the cocks, ladies,” because while we appreciate the input, this ultimately isn’t your debate. We men don’t tell you when you can and can’t get an abortion because it’s your body. Just like that infant boy’s body is his, even if that body at six-days-old is pretty much a full-steam-ahead meconium factory. An adult man can do whatever the hell he likes with his dong (and most do.) But don’t you dare fuck with Junior’s peter. 

Stay strong, Foreskin Brothers. We shall overcome.

The reason I posted this is that my son Stone is uncircumcised.  If he decides that he wants the procedure done when he is older, that will be HIS decision, and not mine.  Of course I will pay for the procedure, but it will be Stone's decision to make.  

The human body was created by God correct?  so why do we think we should chop parts of it off?  Religious doctrine that pushes the act of circumcision is outdated and should not be practiced.  I could go on about the human body and all the extra 'junk' DNA we supposedly have, or internal organs that can be removed because they really don't do much.....like the appendix, which by the way is considered to be like a second stomach. I have mine still, do you?  

Love your body as a whole...and if any of you were to have a baby boy in the future, remember this article. 

 
 

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Day 14

 

 the way of the cross coming soon, can you handle it?

SWOD:
Dead lift 15x1 @ 65% of 1 RM (30 seconds rest) weight was 275#  very light, only waited 20 seconds
*work on moving the bar off the ground as fast as possible

My WOD: 20min...wow that sucked.  du's and snatch are getting better but they still slowed me down a bunch.  worked on them for 30 minutes afterward, I will kill the next wod with them in it!
50 Double Unders
40 Box Jumps
30 Knees to Elbows from the rings
10 Snatch @ 135 lbs
5 Muscle Ups 
100 m Weighted run with 70 lbs


2 Rounds with a 15 minute time limit, wod courtesy of XfitCrimlaw's Blog....
http://xfitcrimlaw.blogspot.com/

COOL DOWN (a new addition to my workouts):  4 sets of handstand walks....a new skill for me, was able to make it roughly 20' each time.  I will continue to do more of these  in my cool down.  I can tell my handstand holds are paying off BIG TIME!

The final video of The Man Who Planted Trees

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Bear Complex

Strength: Complete:  (this will be more practice then actually finding a 1RM since all I have is 205# at my house....my current Rack Jerk is 215#, I know I can get at least 225 now)
1 RM Jerk ....worked up to 205 jerk from the front, ugly need to work on this lift at a lower more manageable weight
*Work up to a 1 rep max jerk
*You can split jerk, push jerk or rack jerk.
I did land a 155# snatch PR by 20#'s...stoke about this!

Bear Complex is 7 sets of the following sequence:  3 rds 95, 115, 135, then made it through 4 cycles @ 155#, better warmup and i make it through it!
Power Clean
Front Squat
Push Press
Back Squat
Push Press
(rest after you have gone through the cycle 7 times WITHOUT letting go of the bar. If you let go of the bar, the workout is terminated)

5Rds of this.... After each round go up in weight. So the first rd weight should be fairly manageable, and then go up the next rd, and so on. The last time I did this I ended up at 135 (started at 95#), shooting for at least a 10# jump today.   Their is a great video on youtube (title of the video is bear complex crossfit) showing Jolie and freddy c. of crossfit doing the wod that you should watch if you have any questions...


3 intervals of 500m row:  1:34, 1:37, 1:36  roughly 90 second rest between rds.
Get you some! 

Part 2 of Planting Trees:

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Sunday Funday

Ran a Rogue 10k at 7:30am.  My time was 48:17, 7:47 pace and 14th overall out of 106 men.  Not bad for my first trail race, and considering I was going on 4.5 hrs of sleep, I would say my effort was pretty damn good (didn't get home til 12:30am from Winchester's house after watching the UFC fights).

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HydePark 2.0

Today at Hyde Park Gym a group of us from Central are going to flip some TIRES!  Sounds like a good time to me! (6 flips in 1minutes of 630-650# tire)

But before we lose our flipping minds...we are going to clean up the place!  looking to best my PR of 250#, which I just set this past Monday. (254#...PR!)

For the next 3 days I will post a series of videos I found on BoingBoing.com.  if you are not familiar with the website you should check it out.. really interesting articles and videos to simulate the mind and soul.  So here you go, Part 1 of The Man Who Planted Trees.....

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Xavier Rudd

thanks to the cats from Crossfit Point Break for introducing me to Xavier Rudd...what a talent!

I have some skill work to make up today.....save my strength for tomorrow's Tire Flipping and Max Clean event at Hyde Park Gym.  Should be off the hook!

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21 Jump Street! Day 9

this image says a lot to me....OHS?  are you kidding?  practice, practice, practice... OHS have turned into my favorite lift now!

Warm Up: (Friday)
10 Attempts Max Distance Broad Jump longest jump 8'8"


SWOD: (Friday)
OHS   5X1....  205x3!  PR!
Bench 5x1 205 (no spotter), need to do some more bench..it's been at least 2 weeks


DWOD:  7min30sec (double under practice!)
7   Rounds
7   Power Snatch 95#
21 Double Unders

CrossfitCentral Metcon:  20 min how many rounds?  14
12 pullups
12 box jumps 32", 34", a few 20"
12 back Extensions

I need more pics of this beautiful lady beside me!

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The Edge

The EDGE... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over.

Hunter S. Thompson 

As I get stronger my ability to reach beyond the EDGE are becoming a reality.  I have 10+ weeks left until Regional to prepare myself for a competition that will require me to reach beyond that EDGE if I want to qualify for the games.  I am determined, motivated, driven, excited, and ready to experience what it feels like to go beyond the EDGE.  One rep at a time, one wod at a time, one day at time.  


My WOD 1: 4rds in 8minutes...(ran out of time, did the sectional wod first)
Complete as many rounds as possible in 15 minutes: (goal is minimum of 12 rds, the high on CFFB was 14 I think, which is doable since I'm going to go from the rack for my jerk)
5 Push Jerks or Split Jerks 155 lbs
7 Push Ups
Sprint 1/2 Gasser



10 min break


Wod 2: (time to beat was 5:29) 5:48
5 rounds
6-  275 dl
12- box jump "over" 20"
1- rope climb 20' (no rope then do 12 towel pullups)

10 min break


3 max efforts of static hold BENCH (I will do this on Thursday)
find a weight that is beyond you 1rm but you are still able to press out of the racked position, hold as long as possible.  take 3minutes between sets.   (skip this if you don't feel comfortable doing this on your own.   I have the luxury of using an old squat rack that will allow me to hold the weight until failure without bringing it down on me)

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Khalipa Vs. Spealler

 Day of the Dead coming soon......

Wod 1:
1 rd Cindy
1 C/J @155#
1 rd Cindy
2 C/J @155#
1 rd Cindy
3 C/J @155#......
up to
1 rd Cindy
10 C/J @ 155#


Khalipa 14:15
Spealler 12:05
Thiel  15:08
Andy Lewis  15:30?
Travis Holley 18:40?
JDP 18:50?
Web Smith 17:50?
Lisa Thiel 18:50?
KK 19:30

**?  unsure the exact time for the ? people, + or - 5 seconds.  wow that sucked.  I have gained strength, but need to continue to gain more if I want to compete at a high level.  

Good News Travels faster then Bad News

By JOHN TIERNEY 

Published: February 8, 2010

Sociologists have developed elaborate theories of who spreads gossip and news — who tells whom, who matters most in social networks — but they’ve had less success measuring what kind of information travels fastest. Do people prefer to spread good news or bad news? Would we rather scandalize or enlighten? Which stories do social creatures want to share, and why?

Now some answers are emerging thanks to a rich new source of data: you, Dear Reader.
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have intensively studied the New York Times list of most-e-mailed articles, checking it every 15 minutes for more than six months, analyzing the content of thousands of articles and controlling for factors like the placement in the paper or on the Web home page.
The results are surprising — well, to me, anyway. I would have hypothesized that there are two basic strategies for making the most-e-mailed list. One, which I’ve happily employed, is to write anything about sex. The other, which I’m still working on, is to write an article headlined: “How Your Pet’s Diet Threatens Your Marriage, and Why It’s Bush’s Fault.”
But it turns out that readers have more exalted tastes, according to the Penn researchers, Jonah Berger and Katherine A. Milkman. People preferred e-mailing articles with positive rather than negative themes, and they liked to send long articles on intellectually challenging topics.
Perhaps most of all, readers wanted to share articles that inspired awe, an emotion that the researchers investigated after noticing how many science articles made the list. In general, they found, 20 percent of articles that appeared on the Times home page made the list, but the rate rose to 30 percent for science articles, including ones with headlines like “The Promise and Power of RNA.” (I swear, the science staff did nothing to instigate this study, but we definitely don’t mind publicizing the results.)
“Science kept doing better than we expected,” said Dr. Berger, a social psychologist and a professor of marketing at Penn’s Wharton School. “We anticipated that people would share articles with practical information about health or gadgets, and they did, but they also sent articles about paleontology and cosmology. You’d see articles shooting up the list that were about the optics of deer vision.”
To make sense of these trends in “virality,” the Penn researchers tracked more than 7,500 articles published from August 2008 to February 2009. They assessed each article’s popularity after controlling for factors like the time of day it was published online, the section in which it appeared and how much promotion it received on the Web home page.
A random sample of 3,000 of these articles was rated by independent readers for qualities like providing practical value or being surprising. The researchers also used computer algorithms to track the ratio of emotional words in an article and to assess the relative positivity or negativity.
The computer textual analysis could identify “affect-laden” articles like “Redefining Depression as Mere Sadness” or “When All Else Fails, Blaming the Patient Often Comes Next.” It distinguished positive articles like “Wide-Eyed New Arrivals Falling in Love With the City” from downers like “Germany: Baby Polar Bear’s Feeder Dies.”
More emotional stories were more likely to be e-mailed, the researchers found, and positive articles were shared more than negative ones. Longer articles generally did better than shorter articles, although Dr. Berger said that might just be because the longer articles were about more engaging topics. (The best way to test that, he said, would be for The Times to run shorter and longer versions of the same article that would be seen by different readers.)
Surprising articles, like one about free-range chickens on the streets of New York, were also more likely to be e-mailed — which was a hardly a surprising discovery, of course. But the researchers also kept finding popular articles with a quality that went beyond surprise.
“If I went into my classroom dressed up like a pirate, that would be surprising, but it wouldn’t be awe-inspiring,” Dr. Berger said. “An article about square watermelons is surprising, but it doesn’t inspire that awed feeling that the world is a broad place and I’m so small.”
Building on prior research, the Penn researchers defined the quality as an “emotion of self-transcendence, a feeling of admiration and elevation in the face of something greater than the self.”
They used two criteria for an awe-inspiring story: Its scale is large, and it requires “mental accommodation” by forcing the reader to view the world in a different way.
“It involves the opening and broadening of the mind,” write Dr. Berger and Dr. Milkman, who is a behavioral economist at Wharton.
“Seeing the Grand Canyon, standing in front of a beautiful piece of art, hearing a grand theory or listening to a beautiful symphony may all inspire awe. So may the revelation of something profound and important in something you may have once seen as ordinary or routine, or seeing a causal connection between important things and seemingly remote causes.”
The motivation for mailing these awe-inspiring articles is not as immediately obvious as with other kinds of articles, Dr. Berger said. Sharing recipes or financial tips or medical advice makes sense according to classic economic utility theory: I give you something of practical value in the hope that you’ll someday return the favor. There can also be self-interested reasons for sharing surprising articles: I get to show off how well informed I am by sending news that will shock you.
But why send someone an exposition on quantum mechanics? In some cases, it, too, could be a way of showing off, particularly if you accompanied the article with a note like, “Perhaps this will amuse, although of course it’s a superficial treatment. Why can’t they use Schrödinger’s full equation?”
But in general, people who share this kind of article seem to have loftier motives than trying to impress their friends. They’re seeking emotional communion, Dr. Berger said.
“Emotion in general leads to transmission, and awe is quite a strong emotion,” he said. “If I’ve just read this story that changes the way I understand the world and myself, I want to talk to others about what it means. I want to proselytize and share the feeling of awe. If you read the article and feel the same emotion, it will bring us closer together.” (Go to nytimes.com/tierneylab to discuss your motives for e-mailing articles.)
The Penn researchers found evidence of readers’ sharing other emotions, too, like anxiety — which, based on the old “fear sells” theory of journalism, might be expected to be the most influential emotion on readers. But of all the variables studied, Dr. Berger said, awe had the strongest relationship with an article making the most-e-mailed list, and that finding strikes me as a high compliment to the Times audience.
In fact, Dear Reader, you could consider this new study to be firm scientific evidence of your own awesomeness. And if you want to share that feeling with anyone, you know what to do next.

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Birthday Burpees!

If you guys see Elliot Schrock today give him a birthday hug!

Coffee Is Generally Heart-Friendly
But it may be linked to a slight rise in high blood pressure, researchers say

By Ed Edelson
HealthDay Reporter

(HealthDay News) -- Coffee drinkers can take heart from a series of studies presented this week at American Heart Association conferences in San Francisco.

For example, coffee drinkers appear to have a lower risk of hospitalization for abnormal heart rhythms. And there's no indication that having a few cups every day increases the risk of atherosclerosis, the thickening of blood vessel walls that can lead to heart attacks and other problems. What's more, something in coffee other than caffeine might be responsible for a reduced risk of diabetes for women who regularly imbibe java.

Not every report at the AHA's annual conferences on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention and Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism was totally upbeat for coffee lovers. One report did find a potential link between coffee drinking and high blood pressure, but the effect was described as "modest." And, like the other studies, it came hedged with the caveat that the finding wasn't based on a controlled trial -- the gold standard for assessing risk and benefit -- but from observational studies, which don't exclude all possible factors.

The heart rhythm research looked at the rate at which 130,054 members of the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program were hospitalized for heart rhythm disturbances. About 2 percent of them had hospital stays because of such abnormalities, the most common being atrial fibrillation. But the risk was 18 percent lower for those who reported drinking four or more cups of coffee a day, compared to those who didn't drink coffee, said Dr. Arthur Klatsky, a senior consultant in cardiology for the program, who led the study.

"It might be a surprise, because coffee does give some people the jitters," Klatsky said. "And I don't think we're ready to tell people they should drink coffee to prevent heart rhythm problems."

The study didn't offer any reason why coffee might reduce heart rhythm problems, Klatsky said. "It could be that coffee drinkers have better diets or exercise more. We can't say for sure that it might not be related to minor heart rhythm problems that don't require hospitalization."

The bottom line: "Coffee drinkers don't have to quit because they have heart rhythm problems," Klatsky said. "That's about as far as we can go."

Another study that has followed more than 3,000 men and women for 20 years found no association between coffee consumption and atherosclerosis for just about every demographic group -- men and women, blacks and whites, smokers and nonsmokers. Participants in the study included people whose coffee consumption ranged from none to more than four cups a day.

"Based on these data, there does not appear to be any substantial association between coffee drinking and increased or decreased odds of developing atherosclerosis or its progression over time," study leader Jared Reis, an epidemiologist with the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, said in a prepared statement.

The third study, based on a report from the long-running Women's Health Study, provided a possible explanation for a lower incidence of type 2 diabetes -- the kind that generally develops later in life -- among coffee drinkers. Researchers compared 359 post-menopausal women newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and 359 women without the disease. They found that women who drank four or more cups of caffeinated coffee a day had a 56 percent lower risk of developing the condition than those who did not drink coffee.

That reduced risk appears to be due to the effects of caffeine on a protein that binds to sex hormones, said Dr. Atsushi Goto, of the University of California, Los Angeles, who presented the report. But the finding is preliminary and requires further study, Goto added.

The report linking consumption of one to three cups of coffee a day with a slightly increased risk of high blood pressure came from Dr. Liwei Chen, assistant professor of epidemiology at the Louisiana State University School of Public Health, using data from six studies that included more than 172,000 participants.

"Based on our results, long-term coffee drinking might be a risk factor for hypertension, but the effect is very moderate," Chen said. "We definitely need more research and evidence to clarify our findings based on the meta-analysis of published prospective studies. Meanwhile, I think it is important for people to consider lowering their coffee drinking if they are concerned about their blood pressure." 

moderation is the key I suppose...I know with me personally that I have a very finite threshold when it comes to the caffeine in coffee.  Once I step over that threshold I become extremely irritated and my energy level becomes very erratic...  Not GOOD.  So for me I have to cycle it in and out, i will drink coffee 2-3 days in a row, then avoid it for a month at a time and drink tea instead.  

back to work...I will post my wods once I complete them, unsure what it is I'm doing today, but it will be multiple wods since I took the weekend off!  get some!  

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SNATCH IT..postponed till Monday, off to the farm for some church time!

Was going to rest but have decided against it....  the snatch is a weakness that I need to address!  I will start addressing it now!  Possible rain delay...my front porch is extremely slippery when it rains, will postpone till tomorrow if the rain doesn't stop soon.  I will have to Double up my workouts tomorrow.


Power Snatch 3 RM
then...


Complete 5 rounds:
3 Snatch Pulls
3 Power Snatches
3 Snatch Push Press


*Perform at 75% of 3 RM Power Snatch
Rest 120 seconds between sets.

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Day 4

Wod 1:
Perform 2 Power Cleans and 2 Strict Chin Ups on the minute for 15 minutes.
*Complete Power Cleans around 87% of 1 RM 205#
*For every rep not completed, perform 1 burpee No failed reps

 Last Year's Group who competed in regionals

 

Wod 2:
warm up
Every minute on the minute for 20 minutes do 5 push-ups and 5 Back squats @ body weight
did 5 minutes to keep my legs fresh for this wod....
the wod is from the south european sectionals
WOD
Event 2 "The Italian Job" 8:43
5 Rounds for time of:
4 Hang Power Cleans (60/30kg)
8 Kettlebell Swing (32/16kg)
12 Toes-to-Bar

CrossFit and Cross Training

March 12th, 2010

· by admin · Filed Under: Articles · Calendar · Strength Building · Success · Underground Strength Show · Videos · muscle building

Lots of people HATE CrossFit.
Of course, it’s f**ing HARD workouts. Period.
For my athletes I follow a system. A system of training is required to consistently get them stronger, more explosive, adding more muscle and improving their skill at the lifts as well. CrossFit is implemented into our conditioning work.
CrossFit in lifting / movement / training is similar in philosophy to why I always tell my athletes to Cross Train in other sports to make them MORE athletic in their sport of focus.
For example, I ALWAYS tell my Wrestlers and Football players to train in Judo for a few months out of the year.
I can explain WHY, but instead, I want you to see a high school wrestler who is also a Judoka. He is F**ing deadly. Watch Below…

I am BIG Time impressed with Derek Wojcik, a Judoka and wrestler from Georgia.

The Overseas athletes ALL crosstrained in various sports and various lifting / training methods. The Olympic Weightlifters from the 1970’s looked like a Hybrid of a Gymnast – Wrestler. Very lean, very muscular, extremely strong, extremely explosive and ALSO highly conditioned.

My Football players play a lot of Basketball as it improves their speed, power, agility and overall conditioning.

The athlete who never rotates new movements, methods or sports into his / her repertoire will be more likely to get overuse injuries or achieve physical / psychological burn out before the athlete who is more well rounded, exposed to more sports yet still focuses on 1 or 2 main sports.

Drop a comment, let me know your thoughts.

–Z–

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I Love My Sobriety Day 3

St. Patty's day has come and gone as well as my lethargic demeanor...wow!  Last night was a blast, but I'm glad it's over.  Not having anything to drink for almost 3 months finally left a lasting impression on me... i guess better late then never!  back to business!

My Wod:
Find my 1RM on cleans 250# PR

 1 ROUND 23min 
100 DoubleUnders
15 Muscle Ups
25 GHD situps
25 Back Extensions
15 HSPU (as many strict, then kip to keep moving 11 strict/4 kip)
15 OHS @ 135#
Row 500m
Run 400m

Such Passion

“I pray that you and all God’s holy people will have the power to understand the greatness of Christ’s love.”  Ephesians 3:18

From the cradle in Bethlehem to the cross in Jerusalem we’ve pondered the love of our Father. What can you say to that kind of emotion? Upon learning that God would rather die than live without you, how do you react? How can you begin to explain such passion?

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Day 2

 Happy St. Patrick's Day!

 

SWOD/ SKILL:
NORCAL WOD 1:  800m Run max OHS @115#  in 6min.  28 total reps, not great but to be expected with very little warmup

DWOD 1:

Complete 5 rounds of: 10:30
1 Press 90% of 1 RM 150#
1 Strict Pull Up
1 Press 90% of 1 RM 150#
3 Strict Pull Ups
1 Press 90% of 1 RM 150#
5 Strict Pull Ups

10 min rest 

DWOD 2: 6:30
Dumb Fran
21-15-9 
50# db thrusters
chin ups

A Purposeful Life May Stave Off Alzheimer's

Feeling good about yourself can lower your risk more than twofold, study suggests

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

(HealthDay News) -- People who say their lives have a purpose are less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease or its precursor, mild cognitive impairment, a new study suggests.

As the population ages and dementia becomes a more frequent diagnosis, there's increasing impetus to determine the causes of the disease, associated risk factors and how to prevent it, explained study co-author Dr. Aron S. Buchman, an associate professor in the department of neurological sciences at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

"There has been a lot of interest in psychosocial factors and their association with cognitive decline and dementia in later life," he said.

The study looked at the positive aspects of life and their possible effect on keeping dementia at bay, "looking at happiness, purposefulness in life, well-being and whether those kind of concepts are associated with a decreased risk of dementia," Buchman explained.

For the study, published in the March issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry, Buchman and his colleagues collected data on 951 older people without dementia who participated in the Rush Memory and Aging Project. The participants were asked to respond to statements such as: "I feel good when I think of what I have done in the past and what I hope to do in the future," and "I have a sense of direction and purpose in life."

After an average four years of follow-up, 16.3 percent of the people in the study developed Alzheimer's disease. Taking into account other factors that could account for Alzheimer's, the researchers found that people who responded most positively to statements about their lives were the least likely to develop the condition. Also, people who said they had more purposeful lives were less likely to develop mild cognitive impairment and had a slower rate of cognitive decline.

People who scored 4.2 out of 5 on the purpose-in-life measure were about 2.4 times less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease, compared with people who scored 3.0, the study found.

It's not known whether there is a biological reason for this finding, the researchers noted.

"One possibility is that, truly, somebody with high purpose in life might have a lower risk of developing dementia because of what's involved in purpose in life," Buchman said.

"The importance of the study," he added, "is this doesn't prove anything, but it points researchers in the direction of a link between purpose in life and cognition in late life. And now we have to find out what the biological basis is."

Still, the researchers think these findings could have implications for public health.

"More social activity, more physical activity, higher cognitive activities, high purpose in life -- all these psychosocial factors seem to be linked with longer life, decreased mortality, decreased disability and provide important clues to a public health approach to try to increase independence in older people in later life," Buchman said.

Greg M. Cole, a neuroscientist at the Greater Los Angeles VA Healthcare System, wondered if the study is really measuring depression, not a purposeful life.

"I am unclear about how low scores on the purpose-in-life measures can be separated from mild depression," Cole said. "Depression has been repeatedly associated with increased Alzheimer's disease risk. So psychiatrists can make a distinction, but they seem likely closely related."

"One wonders whether this is a treatable psychiatric condition contributing to risk or an early symptom of decline," he added.

William H. Thies, chief medical and scientific officer at the Alzheimer's Association, said the new study "contributes to the literature that says there is a linkage between behavior and disease."

The study begs the question whether there is more Alzheimer's disease because more people have a lower sense of purpose, or is a lower sense of purpose an early, subtle, sign of dementia, he said.

"As we get better and better at having biological measures of the disease, we will shed a lot of light on these kinds of studies and whether these behaviors are simply a symptom or they are a place where you can intervene," Thies said.  

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Regional

It seems like yesterday we were throwing down at Hell's Half Acre...and now 11 weeks from now I will be competing again for a chance to represent the South in the 2010 Crossfit Games....60 men and 60 women competing for 8 spots (4m/4w).  It is going to be intense, and I promise you this, if you have a weakness it will be EXPOSED.  I don't have any weaknesses, because I'm CONSTANTLY IMPROVING.  Today is day 1 for Regional training...booyah!

My SWOD:

Complete 3 sets of:
10 Rep Squat (5 RM) 245#  first 2 sets broken, last set unbroken PR!
*Use your 5 RM squat for this workout.
*Perform as many reps as possible...put the bar in the rack..rest..do another rep and continue till you get 10 total reps.
*Rest 3 mins between sets

Power Clean 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3 worked my way up to 215

My DWOD:

Complete 7 rounds:  60, 58, 56, 45, 45, 60, 30 seconds.   2nd to last set close/ last set wide hands
Handstand Holds for maximum time
10 Supine Ring Pull Ups
Post total time of 7 rounds of handstand holds

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29 is the New 1

Sectionals are over and now it's on to the next , next being the Regional at GSX in Ft. Worth Texas.  My goal was to qualify.  Not once did I actually target an actual number.."just make it into the top 30"...  was all I really said to myself or anyone who asked how I thought I might do.  Since I qualified,  I have bought myself an additional 8+ weeks of CFFB programming.  As well as working on my weaknesses, ex..  HSPU, and Oly lifts.  I have a rower at my house now as well as some new bumper plates and barbells.  I need to continue practicing my DU's, KB work.  I have 4 KB's that live on my front porch, no more neglecting them.  Thank God I have familiarity with them or I would have been screwed this weekend.   So when I say 29 is the new 1, my goal is to qualify for the games, plain and simple.

My WOD today is to chill out.... for the next week cleanse myself of all Advocare Performance Supplements.  I did consume a few beers yesterday, my first in over 2 months....  time to start a new streak of avoiding alcohol.  None until after the Regional Qualifier. 

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I Will ACT NOW Part 2

 Light Weight Baby!

"I will act now, I will act now, I will act now. Henceforth, I will repeat these words each hour, each day, everyday, until the words become as much a habit as my breathing, and the action which follows becomes as instinctive as the blinking of my eyelids. With these words I can condition my mind to perform every action necessary for my success. I will act now. I will repeat these words again and again and again. I will walk where failures fear to walk. i will work when failures seek rest. I will act now for now is all I have. Tomorrow is the day reserved for the Labor of the lazy. I am not lazy. Tomorrow is the day when the failure will succeed. I am not a failure. I will act now. Success will not wait. If I delay, success will become wed to another and lost to me forever. This is the time. This is the place. I am the Person."

-Og Mandino

Light Weight Baby!

Let the Sectionals Begin.....I am the praying mantis!

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St. Patrick's Breastplate

Here is another version of St. Patrick's Breastplate....

I bind unto myself today
The strong Name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same
The Three in One and One in Three.

I bind this today to me forever
By power of faith, Christ’s incarnation;
His baptism in Jordan river,
His death on Cross for my salvation;
His bursting from the spicèd tomb,
His riding up the heavenly way,
His coming at the day of doom
I bind unto myself today.

I bind unto myself the power
Of the great love of cherubim;
The sweet ‘Well done’ in judgment hour,
The service of the seraphim,
Confessors’ faith, Apostles’ word,
The Patriarchs’ prayers, the prophets’ scrolls,
All good deeds done unto the Lord
And purity of virgin souls.

I bind unto myself today
The virtues of the star lit heaven,
The glorious sun’s life giving ray,
The whiteness of the moon at even,
The flashing of the lightning free,
The whirling wind’s tempestuous shocks,
The stable earth, the deep salt sea
Around the old eternal rocks.

I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, His might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need.
The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, His shield to ward;
The word of God to give me speech,
His heavenly host to be my guard.

Against the demon snares of sin,
The vice that gives temptation force,
The natural lusts that war within,
The hostile men that mar my course;
Or few or many, far or nigh,
In every place and in all hours,
Against their fierce hostility
I bind to me these holy powers.

Against all Satan’s spells and wiles,
Against false words of heresy,
Against the knowledge that defiles,
Against the heart’s idolatry,
Against the wizard’s evil craft,
Against the death wound and the burning,
The choking wave, the poisoned shaft,
Protect me, Christ, till Thy returning.

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

I bind unto myself the Name,
The strong Name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three.
By Whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
Salvation is of Christ the Lord.

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Chacarron!

but when it's GO TIME......FLIP THE SWITCH!

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Home Grown Part 2

Savannah Grace holding a baby carrot from last years garden.  I have since doubled the size of it and can't wait to start planting....(March 23-34th, the farmer's almanac suggested dates to plant seeds.)

the below article is from:  http://livability.com/cities/global/home-garden/4-healthy-benefits-eating-garden-fresh-produce

4 Healthy Benefits of Eating Garden-Fresh Produce

Did you know the average American eats only one to two servings of vegetables per day, around five times below the recommended amount? To maintain proper health, men should eat up to nine servings per day, while women are encouraged to have at least seven daily servings. And it's the veggie's unique phytochemicals that promote our good health.

1. More Servings, More Benefits
Eating fresh fruits and vegetables every day is one of the most important things you can do for your health. Research continues to show that many essential nutrients in fresh produce may protect you from cancer, high blood pressure, heart disease and Type 2 diabetes, and they also give you more energy, help reduce weight gain and may even reduce the effects of aging.

2. Mighty Phytochemicals
Phytochemicals are powerful food factors that elicit profound effects on human health maintenance and disease prevention. Usually related to plant pigments, they are the reason we promote eating your colors. Yellow, orange, red, green and purple fruits and vegetables generally contain the most phytochemicals, with more than 900 found in plant foods.

3. Keep It Crunchy
Once you cook produce, you quickly lose the beneficial qualities. If you want to cook your veggies lightly sauté or steam them - you want to keep them crispy and crunchy. Once veggies lose their crunch, they have also lost their nutritional value.

4. Growing Inspires Eating
Gardening not only provides you with fresh fruits and vegetables, it also encourages you to eat them. Once you are blessed with a bushel basket of tomatoes, you will have newfound interest in finding recipes for tomatoes.
What's more, picking fresh produce from your garden is a great way to get children to eat fruits and vegetables. It IS fun for them to pick their own lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers - and then eat them.

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Priming The Engine!

we live a privileged life, never forget that

THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND 
words and music by Woody Guthrie
Chorus:
This land is your land, this land is my land
From California, to the New York Island
From the redwood forest, to the gulf stream waters
This land was made for you and me

As I was walking a ribbon of highway
I saw above me an endless skyway
I saw below me a golden valley
This land was made for you and me

Chorus

I've roamed and rambled and I've followed my footsteps
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts
And all around me a voice was sounding
This land was made for you and me

Chorus

The sun comes shining as I was strolling
The wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling
The fog was lifting a voice come chanting
This land was made for you and me

Chorus

As I was walkin'  -  I saw a sign there
And that sign said - no tress passin'
But on the other side  .... it didn't say nothin!
Now that side was made for you and me!

Chorus

In the squares of the city - In the shadow of the steeple
Near the relief office - I see my people
And some are grumblin' and some are wonderin'
If this land's still made for you and me.

Chorus (2x)

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Burning Desire

“Desire is the starting point of all achievement, not a hope, not a wish, but a keen pulsating desire which transcends everything.”

Napoleon Hill

You want to be real, you want to be empty inside
You want to be someone laying down your pride
You want to be someone someday
Then lay it all down before the king

You want to be whole, you want to have purpose inside
You want to have virtue and purify your mind

You want to be set free today
Then lay it all down before the King

This is my desire, this is my return
This is my desire to be used by You

You want to be real, you want to be emptied inside
And I know my heart is to feel You near
And I know my life
It's to do Your will
It's to do Your will

This is my desire, this is my return
This is my desire, to be used by You
Oo yea
This is my desire, this is my desire
To be used by You

All my life I have seen
Where You've taken me
Beyond all I have hoped
And there's more left unseen

There's not much I can do to repay all You've done
So I give my hands to use

This is my desire, this is my return
This is my desire, to be used by You
Oo yea
This is my desire, this is my desire
To be used by You

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Constantly Improving

Sunday Funday....as well as a Much Needed REST day!  A quick recap of the last few months for me in my growth as man, husband, father, and competitor:


Back on January 8th of this year, I had coming to so to speak with reality.  As I was reflecting back on my life and as well as my current state it was quite obvious to me that I was 'floating' through life.  I was a  so so man, husband, father, and competitor.  Did just enough that it looked as though I was putting the effort that needed to be put in whatever role I was in at the time.   That wasn't fair to my wife and kids, nor was it fair to my God.  We are given every opportunity to become great....in all aspects of life.  Why wasn't I trying to be great?  It had my stomach so twisted I wasn't able to sleep or eat worth a damn for about a week.  So I meditated every night for an answer on what it was I needed to do.  By the time Thursday the 14th rolled around it had come to me what it was I needed to do... it wasn't rocket science, it was to give 100% of myself up to my God, my wife , my kids, and my competitiveness.  


When I say my God, I mean everything around me & in me... everything.  i needed to start praying/ meditating every night before I went to bed, drop to my knees like I used to.  meditate during the day, before I eat, before I workout...anytime I feel overwhelmed....  and in the last few months I haven't missed many opportunities to meditate/ pray. and in return I haven't had this kind of clarity in sometime! 


As for my wife, she is an amazing woman who deserves the best support team possible.  She works cray amount of hours, travels as much as she works.  Is constantly figuring out ways to pull in an income to support our family.  Plain and simple she is a work-horse! She deserves to be treated like a queen, which I wasn't doing.  not that I treated her poorly, but I wasn't extremely supportive of her workload.  I understand now that for our family to achieve some of the fiscal goals that we have I have to support her with 100% of my being, and I have!  and the rewards have been abundant!


As for Savannah and Stone, they are my world....but I wasn't be the dad I know I could be.  Losing my cool more often then not, not giving them the attention that they STARVE for, not being a better teacher for them,  being quite pathetic actually.  When I say kids starve for attention, I mean it.  My kids demand it..they need it to grow, and as draining as it is, I give it to them almost 100% of the time.   I still zone them out on occasion... I never said I was perfect ; 0. 


Last but but not least, my competitive side.  I was an outstanding 2 sport high school athlete.  Achieving many rewards/ accomplishments on God given abilities.  When college came around I had the opportunity to play both football and soccer at 2 different schools.  But as I got in to college my mindset changed, I started to party more, and I lost the will to compete... it didn't matter to me anymore!  i never thought their would be a day I would stop playing soccer, my first true passion/ love!  Then when I was introduced to crossfit, it sparked something in me to want to compete again, to be an athlete again.  Until recently, I still hadn't committed myself 100% to Crossfit....meaning eating appropriately, getting proper sleep, avoiding alcohol, following a program....CONSTANTLY IMPROVING myself.  

I can honestly say that I AM on The right Track!  

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