Busy Busy Busy

Hey everyone, I know I have not been posting much about what is going on here in Vancouver lately. I have just been so busy with school, the gym, my website, etc. So let me catch you all up.

I have recently purchased a website domain name of wipfit.net. Now I am not going to give all the details away right now about the website, I have quite a few ideas that I really hope are going to spark some interest throughout the crossfit community and especially Real Fitness. So stay tuned, the blog will also be moved to the website once it is finished.

What else, lets see... So lets talk about the whole reason I am up here in the first place. As most of you know I am in Vancouver interning at a crossfit gym here in hopes of learning their business model and obviously how to be a better trainer. This weekend I am attending what they call the "Executive Diploma Program." This is a program developed to aid other box owners or future owners in the ideas of business and how to run a successful gym. I am learning tons of stuff up here and I am also getting a feel for how I want my gym to be run some day.

My roomate Dan and I recently purchased a quarter of a cow (rail weight = 150lbs) which after being de-boned and prepared our portion of cuts totaled about 110lbs. Dan also bought a turkey, some pork, and even some chicken, he went all out. If you guys don't know purchasing a grass fed cow such as we did is tremendously cheaper per pound than buying from the store. If your interested I suggest looking around on google, I am sure any of you guys could find a group of people that would want to split the cost of a whole cow or even a smaller portion. Another discovery of mine was buying coconut oil in the gallons. I don't know about all of you but I smash that stuff like its candy (I cook using a lot). I spend more money on cooking oils than I do on food, gotta have your fat, right? Any ways check out some of the differnet brands here.

Love Ya,
WipFit

Here Are Some Pictures Enjoy!

914.11

I had spoken to a few of our followers about intermittent fasting and they wanted to read some of the articles that I had found for my research project. Although I have not been able to read this entire article yet, it was the only peer reviewed, research article in regards to humans and intermittent fasting in the twenty databases I searched. Check it out here.

This Friday I am going to the Science World Museum  were they close it down some nights for adults only (19+) were they have a bar inside and give you the chance to re-live your childhood memories. They are having a huge dinosaur museum on exhibit right now, they are also showing IMAX Hubble 3D which looks pretty awesome. I remember when I was in elementary school we took a field trip to a place were you could play with all kinds of science stuff, make tornado's, play with those electricity balls (the ones that make your hair stand up). I am pumped! 

So we had a huge apprentice meeting last night that I attended, I definitely look at Crossfit differently now. In a good way though, in simple terms I am starting to understand that when training to optimum levels of performance your levels of health and longevity decrease with time spent in that level of training. I am starting to understand what it takes to maintain that balance of performance and health. So remember taking a week off of training will be the best thing you ever do for yourself. I am sure many of you who Crossfit and are reading this have heard me say that time and time again. Rest is key.

I am thinking about posting every 2 days instead of every 1. What do you think?

9.13.11

You ever have those days were you just feel so unproductive? If you know what I am talking about what do you do to get back on track? If your reading this and have an answer comment below, you never know you might just be the hero.

It was a gloomy day out, clouds low hovering over the mountains. Small rays of sunlight fought fiercely to climb their way through the dense clouds. The air was cool today, I would say around 65 or so if I had to guess, with a slight breeze which made it all that much more enjoyable.

These are the kind of days I enjoy drinking a nice coffee outside while reading or writing. Do you ever have that vision of what your perfect day would be like? Would it be cold or hot? Rain or sunshine, maybe snow? What would you be doing? Who would you be with? Let us know by commenting down below.

A snowy evening, sitting by the fire drinking a cup of coffee while enjoying the company of someone special would be my perfect day. 

-WipFit

9.12.11

My roomate has left town for about a week to go work at one of his job sites, leaving the apartment all to me. No more competition for the stove in the morning, woot!

The days are growing shorter here and somewhat darker it seems. Every day I add 2 minutes to sunrise and subtract 2 minutes from sunset. The beginning of October signals the beginning of the rainy season here. I believe that next week summer is over, ha, the temperature drops like 20 degrees for a new high of 60. I can't wait!

Today I was in the gym shadowing my apprentice again learning while he coaches his one on one clients. We ended up coaching the 5pm class together then trained at the 6pm. I will post the WOD at the end of todays post. After our workout Shep and I discussed in short detail how he programs his week of WODs for the gym. Next weekend the "Executive Diploma Program" will be taking place at Crossfit Vancouver, which I will be attending. They basically teach their business model from the ground up; at least that's what I think they do, ha.

Cheers,
WipFit

9.11.11

What a long day it was, again, procrastination has bitten me in the ass. I recently mentioned that I was going to be writing a research article on intermittent fasting. Well little did I know there has only been one research article written on human testings.

You see there are two main types of articles, research articles and review articles. Research articles are primary sources of information, the article is written by one of the individuals who actually conducted the experiment. On the other hand, we have review articles which is a secondary source of information meaning these articles were written taking information and findings from a research article.

There is so much that goes into research articles it is amazing. I simply thought I was going to be able to find 10 peer-reviewed research articles involving humans in regards to intermittent fasting. Needless to say that did not happen, I spent 12 hours in a chair looking for articles and only found one that would apply. Sadly I think I am going to have to change my topic to meet this professors requirements.

Something interesting did catch my eye while I was devouring the databases for articles I noticed that every article regarding intermittent fasting the mention of caloric restriction was also talked about. From the research I read it seems that combining a caloric restricted diet with times of intermittent fasting, the duration of life increases dramatically. Since I am at the coffee shop writing this on my tablet, I will see if I can dig up some of the articles to share with those of you whom are interested.

9.10.11

     Before I even say anything you need to watch the video above, it is hysterical.

     Today was spent at the beach with several Crossfitters and their kids. I had a blast, I ended up digging the biggest whole I have ever seen with 5 kids, ha. The water is fairly cold here, I am not sure of an exact temperature but all I can say is it was nippy. Once in the water your greeted with tons of rocks, makes wearing water shoes a smart idea, it seems that most of the beaches around here have lots of rocks in the water, I ended up being alright with nothing on my feet. Even though the sun isn't as strong up here as in Florida, I learned sunscreen is still needed.

Not a bad view from the beach, eh?

It's sure nice to have a scenery change.

     Tomorrow marks the second day I will be conducting an intermittent fast. I am going to try and fast from the time of waking to the time of sleeping again. So technically it will be around a 24 hour fast or so. I will be spending most of the day tomorrow gathering research articles for my research paper I will be writing very soon on intermittent fasting. During tomorrows fast I plan on drinking lots of water, and green tea most likely. No food of any sort will be taken in during the fast, no juice fasting (something people cheat with, it defeats the purpose).

     One more thing, Laurie had previously asked if the cows I was purchasing a share in for their milk had names. Well Laurie I had browsed through my emails and found a list of all the names of all the cows who have shares for sale. Our Cows Cowshare currently owns 24 Jerseys: Maple, Amber, Marlene, Friska, Holly, Fawn, Emerald, Marcie, Sadie, Rosie, Allysa, Pearl, Honey, Cocoa, Tess, Vanessa, Frances, Diamond, Tamika, Garda, Irene, Kalee, Teal, October as well as 1 Guernsey, Caramel, and Ayrshire, Belle. They also have 7 goats: Tasha, Jewel, Fauna, Mariah, Blossom, Willow & Molly.

Cheers,
WipFit

9.9.11

     Day started early for me, trying to go to bed earlier now and get up earlier, this allows me more productive time to get my school work done.

     I went into the gym today to train one of my mentors clients for him at 11 then stuck around for the group class at 12. I mentioned in yesterdays post that I would be taking a break from Crossfit training until my back was 100%. I decided to make use of this rest time and work on my gymnastic movements. A few current goals of mine include: freestanding handstand hold, 2:00 l-sit, a front and back lever on rings, and ultimately a freestanding handstand push up.

     As usual I was on the computer today reading about nutrition and came across something that I wanted to share with you.

     Many are aware that 6:3 ratio is important, so they try to compensate by taking fish oil to balance
the 6:3 ratio. This doesn’t really work too well – you can’t realistically eat that much fish, and if you take fish oil supplements, you now exacerbate the second and more important problem with excess n-6, which is your total PUFA intake. High total PUFA, especially including the highly unstable n-3, leads to oxidative damage to your cells. Your arteries, liver and  other organs don't appreciate extra oxidative damage.

     The way to correct the modern excess of n-6 or linoleic acid is to avoid the modern sources of it. Stop eating all temperate vegetable oils - cooking and frying oils like corn, soy, canola, flax, all of it. And go easy on the nuts and factory chicken. These are big soruces of n-6, especially the nuts and nut oils.

     Most of us cook with EVOO or coconut oil, right? I urge you to pick up some clarified ghee next time your in need of some cooking oil. It's very similar to butter without the chance of it burning, tastes amazing with eggs, sweet potatoes, red meat, I use it for most everything now. Just another good fat source to have on deck when cooking.

Cheers, 

WipFit 

Gymnastics WOD:

10-1 Ladder

• Strict Hand-Stand-Push-Up (No Kipping)
• Strict Pull-Up (No Kipping)

9.8.11

     I am still looking at different templates for the blog so do not be surprised to log in and find it looks completely different.

     Today was spent mostly around the house, I had to be here because my friend was coming by to pick up a dresser that was in my room. Then I had a test I had to take at 4pm for school.

    I did however read the manual on how to use my new Olympus E-510 camera. Operating this thing is like trying to work on a space shuttle, so many buttons and knobs.

    Like I mentioned in recent posts I have been geeking out on some things in regards to nutrition like intermittent fasting, dairy, fish oil, ghee, etc. I am in the process of purchasing a share of a cow so that I will be able to get milk from "my" cow, it's illegal to sell or buy raw milk so this is a way that allows people to work around that law. I am pretty excited actually.

     Do you all like me posting links to some of the readings I have been coming across? Here is a better question, are you reading the links I am posting, ha? Let me know in the comments below.

Cheers,

WipFit

 

9.7.11

It was a organic, blah, blah, blah, a super healthy pig, ha. Was delicious.

Team Under The Bus (They won best costume).

     The weather here is starting to remind me of Florida, it is getting hot man. I thought it was supposed to be cold and rainy up here, ha, all I see is clear blue skies and sunshine. I checked some websites regarding this heat and supposedly it is the hottest week of the entire year.

     I had made plans today to head down to "Pacific Spirit Regional Park, which comprises 763 hectares of forest and foreshore immediately west of Vancouver. The park's forests stretch across Point Grey separating the city from the University of British Columbia. Its thin foreshore wraps around the tip of the peninsula and touches the Fraser River, the Strait of Georgia and Burrard Inlet. The park's closeness to both the university and the city entices visitors to reach it by foot, bus or bike."

     One of my favorite part of todays trip was finding out that there were blackberries growing in the sides of the trail I was walking today. At first I was curious as to what the berries were (poisonous or not), but I was super hungry so I said hell with it. Thank goodness they were blackberries! I ended up staying on this trail as long as I could eating all the berries I could find. I must have ate around 3 pounds of blackberries today... My hands were stained purple, true passion...

     I tried making my way through a series of trails to ultimately end up at the beach but was turned away by what a park ranger told me was a brush fire (starting from a campfire). Helicopters, firetrucks the whole nine yards were coming in to put out this fire. By this time I was quite a ways away from were I had locked up my bike (1 hours walk) so I headed back to get my ride and head on home.

     I did some reading on dairy, and sent a few emails out to local farmers seeing if I could purchase part ownership on a cow to receive raw, pasture-raised, grass-fed, full fat milk. My roommate Dan and I also purchased a quarter of a cow (meat) which will be here 9.25.11, were going to go pick up a 5 liter deep freezer to store all of our meat! I am so excited!

     So were do I stand with dairy? I found this article a while ago and I feel the same way.

Cheers,
WipFit

9.6.11

Team Weiner Dog.

Team Leap Frog.

Andy's father along with some of the soldiers Andy served with.

Words cannot even be said...

Some of the audience we had at the "Nutts Cup."

     My camera finally arrived! Hurray! Now I just have to figure out how to use it, ha.

     I spent half of the day today running around the city looking for a compact flash disk for my camera. After yesterdays brutal workout my back was tight so I worked on it a bit, feeling much better I must say. You know I have been thinking quite thoroughly about my training, and having to deal with a tight lower back and I made the decision to avoid Crossfit training for a while until my back is back were it needs to be.

     To me there is no need to train with risk of injury. I train Crossfit, eat the way I do, practice the things I practice, because I want to live a long healthy life full of adventure not pain. Here is something I will one day end up telling you if I have not already, "listen to your body." You know that saying, "pain is weakness leaving the body," it's bullshit, for the most part. Pain is there for a reason. I look at pain as a way of communication, your body is trying to tell you something, its warning you, so listen. Do not confuse this with something being "hard to do." I am talking about pain in the sense of running with a broken foot. What is the point of that, right? Exactly, so do yourself a favor and LISTEN.

     I have been looking into a company by the name of MovNat, they are doing great things. I wont say to much about them right now, I will let you check it for yourself.

     If you guys have read that article I posted on fish oil, I also urge you to check out one of Robb Wolfs podcasts that also addresses the topic.

Cheers,
WipFit

9.5.11

I had to unload a 60-70lb bucket, 55lb kb, 35lb kb, 45lb plate, 10lb plate.

Now to figure out how to pick this thing up semi-safely...

Ok, still alive...

Ditched the sunglasses, ha.

     I apologize for being so behind on this blog, I had it all written out and then somehow I lost it... Go figure. It may of been that when I woke up this morning I was laying on top of an open and flipped over laptop, ha. Anyways, yesterday was a holiday so the box was closed, and I was working on some research regarding fish oil (omega 3).

     The gym decided to host a workout in a local park nearby @ 2pm and 4pm, I decided to attend the 2pm with my roomate. I arrived to the park early to scope out the area a little bit, crossfitters began to show up one by one, until the coach arrived with a big truck full of wheel barrels, buckets full of plaster, and some kettlebells. We had to go get some more equipment at the gym before we could set up the stations for the workout so we all hopped in the truck to go pick up the equipment. We ended up brining back bars, plates, more kettlebells. I will ink the workout below so you guys can check it out, I must say it was nasty... I had a few videos too but I have not figured out how to upload them on this website yet.

A must read article on Omega 3 Fish Oil!

If your taking it I strongly recommend you read this.





The pictures you see at the top of the blog today are from the "Nutts Cup" (More will be posted throughout the week.

Cheers,
WipFit