Take Charge: Carolyn

Since joining CrossFit Plano a year ago, I now have buns of steel! I have to be careful at the airport security checkpoints!! ha ha!
Carolyn

Creating Change

Many people expect or act as if the mere fact that they want change is all that is needed to create change. Change is a process that requires self-sacrifice, intentional effort and plain hard work if it is to be meaningful and lasting. What do I mean by change?

My business coach always says, ”You are who you have been becoming.” The reality is very simple. When it comes to health and fitness especially, people often play the victim. They blame poor genetics when it is generally the lifestyle “inputs” that have the created their current output or reality. Who you are, the body you have, the mind you have, what you do or don’t do, for the most part – YOU HAVE EARNED!

It is true that you will never exceed your genetic potential, but you will never reach your potential until you hold yourself accountable for your current reality, and own the process of change. Change does not come easily or through intention alone. You have to earn it through self-sacrifice, hardship, hard work, and lots of action. You also have to be willing to fail and get up and try again.

You are the only person stopping yourself from becoming who you want to be! To start creating change, take action now:

1. Get a blank piece of paper and draw two lines down the page to create 3 columns.
2. In the far left column list specific adjectives describing your behaviors today. Use the fill in the blank method such as “I am not _.” For example, “I am not physically active.” Documenting your behaviors instead of who you are helps to leave your emotion out of this and creates a list that is easy to convert to action steps.
3. In the far right column list out all of the behaviors you documented in the left column but without the negative. For example, “I am physically active.”
4. In the middle column write down the specific action that must be taken to create the desired behavior in the right column. For example, “Go to CrossFit Plano five days per week.” OK, just kidding; that was too easy!
5. Keep an action journal. Commit to changing one or two behaviors per month. At the end of each day, write down 3 things you did that day to create the desired behavior. For example, if you want to be more active, then it might look like this:

* Parked 4 blocks from store so I could walk.
* Took stairs instead of elevator.
* Scheduled Elements class at CrossFit Plano.

By having clear, specific goals, and by taking daily action, you will effectively change your behavior within one month. By creating change you are leading your life instead of accepting it. As you continue to changer you “inputs,” you will eventually have the output that you want! Good luck!

5 Ways to Maximize Fat Loss

1. Eat FAT to lose FAT

The more fat you intake, the more efficiently your body uses fat for fuel. If you are a carb loader, then you will get more efficient at using carbs for fuel. The problem with getting more of your caloric intake from carbs or protein is that you have to be careful to keep your blood sugar levels stable or you may spike your insulin. A large enough Insulin spike depletes the blood sugar, leaving you with a low concentration of blood sugar, thus creating a craving for more carbs so that you can be in homeostasis (balance) again. More carbs = More Fat Storage

Eat just enough protein and carbs to meet your nutritional requirements (read Enter the Zone), and support additional caloric demands with more Omega 3 fatty acids. Read more

Go Hard, or Go Fast: Get More Out of Your Workout

One of CrossFit’s main tenants is to maximize work capacity in as many movements, exercises and time durations as possible. Power is king. The more work you can do in the least amount of time the higher the Power or Intensity. Striving to maximize your power is hugely beneficial because it taxes the entire system much more than low power activities including all three anaerobic and aerobic energy pathways.

“The magic is in the movements, the results are in the intensity.” – Greg Glassman

I recently completed our “Jack Bauer” workout and it was a beating! It took me 1 hour and 23 minutes for me to complete it! I bring this up only to demonstrate to you that as the level of work increases the intensity with which you can complete the work drops because you energy systems cannot keep up with the demand. It is like a 100m Olympic sprinter trying to sprint a marathon! It just wont’ work that way. Read more