"Karen Re-Test"(9.1.2011)

Coach Ross mid swing with the Kettlebell!

*Labor Day Weekend Schedule will be up soon, but there will be class on Saturday, September 3rd, 2011 @ 9:00 am. Updates for Sunday and Monday will follow.*

*Fight Gone Bad Fundraiser is still open and ready to take donations. Remember this cause goes towards the wounded warrior project and also for cancer. On Saturday, September 17th, 2011 @ 11:00 am we as a gym will complete the workout “Fight Gone Bad” to honor those who died for us, but also to give support to young KC Mckenna who is struggling with cancer at a very young age. Put a couple hours aside on this Saturday, and give respect to those who  deserve it. Please wear ORANGE to signify our support for KC and his fight for his life.*

*Click HERE to make donation to Fight Gone Bad Fundraiser.* 

Alcohol Is Bad For You? I did not know that!?


I. Dutch Lowy debunking the myth that some alcohol is good for you(Enjoy it and Say Damn!):
Those of us old enough to enjoy the mystical drink are usually confused when someone tells you its not good for you. I’m here to clarify a bit of the confusing info out there.
First of all, alcohol is not good for you, Ever. There is one situation where it could possibly offer a health benefit but i am not going to tell you about it since none of you are having this issue.
The “experts” in main stream media tell us its good for the heart but that is untrue. Alcohol is a blood thinner and is the reason you are not supposed to get a tatoo when you have been drinking. It prevents you from clotting and allows your blood to flow more freely. In theory, this is good for the heart and puts less strain on it. In fact Alcohol is a sugar and is broken down in the liver into a sugar which we all know Makes Us Fatter. Sugar causes all kinds of issues in the body not to mention its effects on the vascular system and its ability to cause inflammation. Inflammation is no bueno and something we will talk about later. Basically the short term benefits of alcohol thinning the blood is reversed by the sugar prematurely aging your blood vessels and harming your heart.
While alcohol is in the body, it prevents the liver from releasing its stores of sugar for the body to use as energy and may be why you get hungry when you drink. This is also why you may wake up early in the morning after drinking a little too much and not be able to sleep due to a racing heart or a feeling of restlessness. Your body just metabolized the last of the alcohol in your system and your liver just released its stores of sugar to the body for energy and surprise, you are awake!
Alcohol also disrupts your brains ability to get into deep restful sleep therefore robbing you of time the brain needs to regenerate and refresh.
So, on top of the alcohol making us fatter due to the sugar digestion and keeping us from sleeping, it is a toxic substance. I am a big fan of trusting the body and if you can think back to the first time you tried alcohol, lets look at hard liquor since it less likely people to enjoy the taste, was there a true enjoyment of the taste? The feeling of it burning all the way down the throat and into the belly and the after taste that makes you want to vomit? All of these feelings are your body telling you to abort! Your body knows that this is not good and as a result tries to tell you. As most of you have done, your brain takes over and beats the body into submission and more frequently than we would like to admit, our brain wins and we drink more than the body can handle. This usually results in the body revolting and vomitting. Never fun. Why do you think sugar is added to most alcohol drinks?
If its unavoidable you need to first look at your goals. If we are trying to lose weight, we want to stay away from excess sugar. The lower the alcohol % the drink the higher the sugar content. Something has to take up all the extra space in your glass if its not straight alcohol right? In wine and beer its the hops and grapes that supply the sugar. In tequila, its agave, in some vodkas its potatoes, others its wheat, in Rum its… well sugar cane. So the fact that you are focused on losing weight but still consuming beverages dominated by carbohydrates is a little silly don’t you think?
Once we have analyzed our goals and still decided that this toxic substance is going in our precious body then you want to choose something that will not further inflame your body, meaning something that does not contain gluten. That includes: Wine, tequila, Potato Vodka, Rum, and any other fru fru drink you may find with a base of these alcohols. I’m not saying these are good, i’m just saying they are less bad than say beer and whiskey.
So, while alcohol is fun in special occasions, it SHOULD NOT be used on a regular or daily basis. Things like Heart disease, fatty liver disease and obesity are sure to follow. Enjoy that last drink!!

*Vagabond CrossFit Coaches Corner 5: Wall Balls*

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9ntss4b2rI]
II. Strength and Conditioning Workouts of the Day:
A. Overhead Squat, 5 sets of 3, rest as needed between sets, 15 Minute Time Limit
B. “Karen”(For Time of the following movement):
150 Wall Balls for Time
*Compare to April 18th, 2011*
Post Weights Used and Time to Complete to Comments.