EDITOR’S NOTE:
Journals will be posted at 3pm Pacific:
Mondays – Ingrid Kantola of CrossFit Central
Tuesdays – Peter Egyed of CrossFit Fury
Wednesdays – Michael Winchester of CrossFit Central
Ingrid Kantola – Athlete Journal 3/12/12
(Read Ingrid’s Bio here)
The week of The CrossFit Open 12.3
As promised: Nutrition!!
I am not passionate about nutrition. I don’t love cooking; I don’t love experimenting with food and supplements. I came across The Zone Diet through general exposure in the CrossFit Journal in early 2009. I never actually weighed and measured my food, but I gave attention to the portions of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins I took in. I eventually became aware of the paleo diet and began limiting grains and dairy in my diet, but I have never fully adopted a strict eating regimen.
I have been much better at consistently eating clean in 2012. Vegetables, meat, fruit, and eggs are the staples of my diet. I still allow for occasional cheat meals and treats, but I am much more controlled than I have ever been. The results I see in my body and performance when I don’t allow those little candy bars and bi-weekly ice cream sundaes are far more satisfying!
I have taken iron supplements since high school, when I was borderline anemic. I take ferrous sulfate with a B-complex vitamin that has vitamin C to help absorb the iron. I am also a full believer in glucosamine, chondroitin, and MSM for joint support. I have been taking fish oil since starting CrossFit and fell in love with the liquid version from Faster, Stronger, Healthier. I obviously had to stop taking it for a while before and after my heart surgery when I was required to be on warfarin (blood thinners). I was not even allowed to eat a lot of leafy greens when on the blood thinners because the vitamin K interacts with the way the meds worked. It was a scary time to be on such powerful medications. Since then, however, fish oil has been a staple in my supplement regimen to aid in decreasing inflammation and aiding recovery. I absolutely swear by taking swigs straight from the bottle in the morning with breakfast and post workout. I get at least 3500mg of EPA and DHA a day, usually more.
My last supplement that I use is Stronger, Faster, Healthier Whey Protein. I have been using their Post Workout/Recovery blend on a nearly daily basis. Having this powder in my workout bag makes post-workout nutrition easy and I like that they use whey from grass-fed-free-range cows! I just started experimenting with their Daily Balance, Pre-Race, and In-Race whey protein formulas. They have pretty solid flavors and I am still practicing timing for supplements prior to workouts.
I usually eat breakfast and take vitamins at around 8AM. Then I don’t eat again until 3:30 or 4PM. With the Daily Balance and Pre-Race formulas I am able to get something in my system and add a little extra fuel prior to strenuous workouts without having to be afraid of Pukie. My last meal is usually around 8PM.
This week I tried the Pre-Race formula prior to the 12.3 WOD. I knew it was going to be a long one and wanted something extra to keep my energy up. I took the same strategy into the WOD as I did for the burpees: Do Not Stop. And while I did break most of my push press sets, I only broke one set of toes-to-bar due to rainy conditions on our semi-outdoor pull up bars. I kept a solid pace through the entire workout and finished with 11 rounds and 8 box jumps. Props to the people who got into 13-15 rounds! They hauled major!
My prediction for next week is a couplet of some skill like muscle ups or handstand push-ups with cleans. I got box jumps right last week and I doubt they will make us do pull ups and a major skill in the same WOD. We will see!!
