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Every now and then, we have people call and ask if we have a sauna.  Our typical answer is “Yes, it’s available May through August” ;).  As with many CrossFit gyms, at Overland Park CrossFit we only turn on the air conditioner when the temperature gets excessive for the safety of our members.  In saying that, there are still many days when it’s not quite hot enough for AC so you will most likely leave in a pool of sweat.  Due to everyone’s body regulating their temperatures differently, we want to go over a few things to look out for during this summer heat because elevated temperature and physical activity are the perfect mix for heatstroke, and ain’t nobody got time for that!

Nausea – You may feel sick to the stomach with an inclination to vomit.

Confusion – Heatstroke can cause confusion, slurred speech and even seizures.

Hot Skin – As your body temperature elevates, you skin may feel hot to the touch.

High Body Temperature – A body temperature of greater than 104F is one of the first signs of heatstroke.

Racing Heart Rate – As you continue to physically exert yourself, you heart rate can continue to rise to a very high level.

If you feel any of these, or just don’t feel right, the first thing to do is stop your physical activity and try to cool down.  If you continue to have symptoms, here are some additional things you can do to reduce the signs of heatstroke.

Use Evaporative Cooling – Stand near one of the fans while misting your body with water.  This will cause the water to evaporate, which will cool the skin.

Apply Ice Packs – If you are still having issues cooling your body, you can place ice packs on your body, specifically to your neck, back and armpits to help cool.

Go To The Hospital – If you continue to have issues, you should seek medical attention from a doctor.

As you should always do, try and keep yourself hydrated and be cautious if you have an elevated risk of heatstroke from a previously diagnosed medical condition or medication.  Heatstroke is very serious and can cause organ failure and even death.  If you are showing symptoms, don’t be a hero, listen to your body, try to cool yourself down and stop working out.

This post is meant for people who work out hard and train as athletes. This is not meant for the people who use the elliptical in the gym simply to burn calories. Proper post-workout nutrition can speed muscle recovery and increase performance in future workouts; and I’m not talking supplements.

There was a study done on post workout recovery nutrition with Marines in basic training. This study compared recruits that received 100 calories of post-exercise nutrition including 8 grams carbohydrates, 10 grams of protein and 3 grams of fat to recruits that received a placebo. The recruits that received the post workout nutrition immediately after exercise had significantly less perceived muscle soreness, 33% less medical visits, 37% less muscle and joint related clinic visits, and 83% less medical visits for heat exhaustion, not to mention 28% less medical visits due to viruses and infection (Flakoll et al. 2004). Proper post workout nutrition can not only assist in recovery but also support the immune system.

An athlete has a window of about 30-45 minutes post workout to take advantage of optimal nutrient absorption for recovery. Specific post workout recovery needs are highly dependent on the workout that was done. Long cardio sessions need more carbohydrates to recover and weight lifting increases the need for post workout protein. So what does that mean for a person who does Crossfit? After a typical daily Crossfit workout that includes weight training and a WOD 100-250 calories should be sufficient. If you are doing longer workouts or multiple events you may adjust the amounts. The Zone ratio of macronutrients of 40/30/30 fits well for typical post workout needs.

For those people that are doing the nutrition challenge, this is where your personal goals are very relevant. If you are trying to lose weight, this post workout snack/meal would be one of the 5 meals on plan. If you are trying to increase strength/ performance, the decision would be up to you whether you want to add an extra snack into your day and increase your caloric intake or include your post workout as one of the 5 meals/snacks on plan. It does not take a lot of calories to achieve benefits post workout, the Marines in the study only had 100 calories post workout.

Post workout is one of the times where higher glycemic index foods can be very beneficial; one of the goals of post workout nutrition is to get easily digestible nutrients in the bloodstream quickly after the workout. Whole food examples of a post workout snack can include: a hardboiled egg and a piece of fruit, or a Greek yogurt, or even some banana and a small amount of peanut butter. If you like protein shakes, add a banana to your shake or drink it with a carbohydrate on the side.

Quick tip: If you choose to eat yogurt be very careful to read the nutritional facts on yogurt, many yogurts have a lot of added sugar or artificial sweeteners. One popular yogurt has 26 grams of sugar in a 6oz container.

Flakoll,P., T. Judy, K. Flinn, C. Carr, and S. Flinn. 2004. Postexercise protein supplementation improves health and muscle soreness during basic military training in Marine recruits. J Appl Physiol 96(3):951- 956; http://jap.physiology.org/content/96/3/951.

Each month Overland Park CrossFit recognizes a member who exemplifies our values and motivates others in the gym to push themselves with encouraging words. June’s Athlete of the Month is Susan Johnson. Susan was chosen because of her commitment and dedication within the gym as well as her involvement within the community! We loved how Susan dove head first into the Open this year and brought a ton of spirit! Susan brings 100% every day at the gym.  Learn more below about Susan!

1. What were your thoughts after your first CrossFit workout?

Ouch…but see you all tomorrow!

2. What has been your favorite workout?

Anything with a “name”.

3. What is your favorite cheat meal?

McDonald’s! 🙂

4. Where do you work?     

I’m a Kindergarten teacher at Frontier School of Innovation.

5. What do you like to do outside of work?

Spend time with my family, especially my nieces and nephews!

6. What advice would you give a newbie just starting at OPCF?

Drink the Kool-Aid people, you’re going to love it!

7. What is your favorite lift?

I just love (most) anything with the barbell! If I had to pick one it would probably be a squat clean.

8. What’s your biggest “GOAT”?

Anything in the gymnastics category…I WILL get that first pull up though!

9. What changes have you seen in yourself since starting at OPCF?  

I’m finally starting to get a little more confidence to try new things or put a little more weight on the bar. It’s a great feeling!

10. What is your biggest improvement or proudest accomplishment thus far?

Honestly, just continuing to show up is my proudest accomplishment. CrossFit is hard and a lot of the movements can be discouraging when the people next to you are killin’ it and you’re still hanging out in scaled city. But I’m not stopping..like I said drink the Kool-Aid!

11. What is something you have always wanted to do but haven’t yet?

Visit all 50 states!

Have you ever thought about what are you trying to gain by doing the workout that you are doing?  Each of the workouts that we program have a specific intent, which differs based on the time, weights, and movements in the workout.  The intents of each of the workouts will play into different energy systems.  What are energy systems?  Glad you asked.

The energy for physical activity comes from the conversion of ATP (adenosine triphosphate) to ADP (adenosine diphosphate).  The human body has 3 main energy systems that are used to produce ATP for muscular activity.  These are the Phosphagen, Glycolysis, and Oxadative systems.  Don’t worry, we don’t expect you to memorize these terms, but we do want you to be aware of what they are and what they do.

Phosphagen – Think of this as the short-term, high intensity system.  The phosphagen system is an anaerobic process where muscle cells must rely on other reactions that do not require oxygen to fuel muscle contraction.  Some examples of this would be sprints or 1 rep max lifts.

Glycolysis – The is the medium intensity system.  Glycolysis is the breakdown of carbohydrates (glucose), stored in the muscles or delivered your blood to create ATP.  Glycolysis doesn’t depend on oxygen, but can use oxygen if it is available in the blood.  Activities in the Glycolysis system are in the 30 second to 2 minute time-frame.

Oxadative – You probably guessed it.  The oxadative system is the longer, low intensity system.  The oxadative system is an aerobic (exercise that improves or is intended to improve the efficiency of the body’s cardiovascular system) system that uses carbohydrates and fats to create ATP.  Examples of the oxadative system would be a long bicycle ride or long run.

That all sounds great, but why do I care?  When you are training in CrossFit, you are training in all of the energy systems.  Sometimes in the same day.  You may start with low rep strength movements, move to a quick workout, and then end with a nice long cool down on the rower.  In order to continue to grow as an athlete, you want to train in each of these systems.  Specific workouts are designed to hit specific systems and this is one of the reasons why we recommend that you “scale appropriately”.  Just because you can complete the workout with the correct weights or movements, doesn’t mean that you are training in the system it was designed for.  Doing Fran in 3 minutes is much different than doing Fran in 15 minutes and work two different energy systems.  Before you start each workout, think of what system this was designed for.  If you aren’t sure, just ask the coach how many rounds you should get, or what time range you should be in.  If you are always the last one to finish, or find yourself way behind on reps/rounds, take it as a sign that you should be scaling.  Remember to check your ego at the door and it’s not always about doing a workout RX.

“What should I be eating now that I am working out?” We get this question fairly often from our new members.  Many new members are just starting their fitness journey or starting again.  Going from not working out to doing a high intensity programming is going to be a change.  This goes for both how your muscles are going to feel as well as how your stomach is going to feel if you have poor nutrition before the workout.  If this is the case, you might find that what you were eating before doesn’t exactly agree with you during your workouts.  Stop being the definition of insanity, and consider eating different and/or for your health and goals.

Nutrition is simple.  It can be summed up with a simple phrase from the CrossFit Journal,  “Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar.  Keep intake to levels that will support exercise but not body fat.”  (CrossFit Journal, September 2002, “The Garage Gym”)  Although it may be simple, as we all know, it is definitely not easy to follow.

If you are just starting out with a new workout routine and diet, simply trying to follow the idea mentioned above of meat, veggies, etc. is a great place to start.  If you are coming from a diet of fast food, processed food, high carb, basically the american diet, you will see big results from just eating real food.  For this person, we would recommend that you stop reading here, bookmark this page, and come back when you hit that first plateau.  Don’t sweat the small stuff until you get down the basics.

So, you have been following the CrossFit Journal phrase above, but still haven’t reached your goal, or maybe your have hit that plateau and can’t loose those last couple pesky pounds.  The next step is to look at the composition of your food.  We have all heard that we should be “eating a balanced diet,” but what does that mean?  This is going to depend on your individual goals and body composition.  There are many great calculators out there that give you recommendations on intake of macro-nutrients (protein, fat, & carbs) and calories, such as IIFYM.

After you get you macro-nutrient composition and calories recommended, the next step is to track what you are eating.  There are many great tools out there, but one of the best is to use the app myfitnesspal.  Myfitnesspal allows you to add your goals, which you determined before, so that you can see how close to ideal your diet is.  For many of us starting out, this usually means we need more protein and less carbs.  Tracking your meals is definitely more work, which is why we don’t recommend this for those just starting out, but it is very effective and beneficial.  Not only will it help you to get to your goal quicker, but it will also give you a good idea of portion size and composition once you reach your goals.  Don’t give up, healthy living is a lifestyle, not a fad diet.

1. Pick up after yourself. A simple life lesson that (hopefully) most of us were taught as children and still comes into play in our adult lives. We get it, after a rough workout the last thing you want to do is pick up those weights you were just throwing around one more time; however, if you don’t, who will? The Gym Fairy? As amazing as it would be to have a Gym Fairy, sadly, they do not exist. So the people stuck picking up after you are your fellow members or the coaches. Thankfully, most people are pretty good about picking up the equipment they used in the workout, however, the same can’t be said about those pesky mobility tools. So at the end of your time at the gym, take a look around, make sure you didn’t leave any foam rollers, lacrosse balls, Ab Mats, bands, your socks, etc., lying around for someone else to deal with.

2. Wipe down your used equipment. It is true that community is a huge part of CrossFit, we love sharing in each other’s triumphs and successes, but not each other’s germs. The workouts are hard enough, no reason to force someone to use a bar, wallball, or rower that is covered in, well, you. So whether you bled, cried, sweat, or slobbered all over your equipment, do us a favor and wipe it down.

3. Listen and don’t distract. When the coach is covering the movements and standards for that day’s class, do your best to listen. There is a reason for reviewing everything you will be doing in class, perhaps the standard is slightly different for today, or the coach has a useful tip to make you more efficient. However, if you feel like what is being said truly won’t benefit you, at least don’t distract those around you. If the coach is covering how to scale a movement that you don’t need to scale, perhaps the person you just struck up a conversation with does need to know how to scale that particular movement. Be considerate of those around you.

4. The current class has “dibs” on both equipment and space. If you come early or stay late to work on some weaknesses, get an extra workout in, or mobilize, that’s awesome! We definitely love seeing people go the extra mile to improve their fitness; however, don’t take away from the current class. If there is a shortage on rowers, bikes, bars, platforms, or space in general, the members who are participating in the class at that time have priority. Take a look around, see if what you are about to do might take away from the class, or simply ask the coach to make sure you won’t be in the way.

5. Be aware. Lastly, a rule that could easily sum up all previous rules, be aware of your surroundings and be considerate of others within the gym. Make sure that kettlebell you are about to grab from the middle of the floor wasn’t just brought out by someone else; or in those larger classes, before you throw your bar down, be sure you aren’t about to throw it down on someone’s ankle; or be aware of where you are walking, try not to walk a foot away from someone who is about to snatch, or behind someone who is doing kipping pull-ups.
We are all there for a common purpose, so let’s try to work together to make our gym a friendly, outgoing, clean atmosphere where people feel both safe and comfortable while attaining their goals.

Each month Overland Park CrossFit recognizes a member who exemplifies our values and motivates others in the gym to push themselves with encouraging words. April’s Athlete of the Month is Becky Klein. Becky was chosen because of her positive attitude and how she pushes herself within the gym.  We were so proud of her for completing her first Open and it was inspiring to other members to watch her tackle each workout head on!  Learn more below about Becky!

    1. What were your thoughts after your first CrossFit workout?

My first actual CrossFit workout was not until I participated in the Open, and even then it was scaled. I guess my first thoughts were something along the lines of “Whew, ok that wasn’t too bad. It’s gonna take me some time to become a badass like everyone else here, but I’m in!”

2. What has been your favorite workout?

3. What is your favorite cheat meal?

Beer! And (real) Ice cream! …technically not a meal, but I can make it one.

4. Where do you work?     

I am a Marriage and Family Therapist working in private practice with children, adults, families and couples.

5. What do you like to do outside of work?

Time with friends, anything outdoors or sports related, activities with my church group and the occasional nap or reading.

6. What advice would you give a newbie just starting at OPCF?

Be patient with yourself and commit! Learn to love the process and the results will come.

7. What is your favorite lift?

Anything I feel confident I have the proper form down (and remember the correct name of) which at this time is really only the clean.

8. What’s your biggest “GOAT”?

Sadly anything involving upper body strength, I get frustrated and in my head and then it is just goes down hill.

9. What changes have you seen in yourself since starting at OPCF?  

This odd, strange desire to have sore muscles, I almost feel out of sorts if I am not feeling that daily.

10. What is your biggest improvement or proudest accomplishment thus far?

Just braving the Open, without knowing at all what I was getting myself into.

11. What is something you have always wanted to do but haven’t yet?

Vacation outside of the US, Ireland perhaps.

What is CrossFit Endurance? First we need to define “endurance.” Endurance is defined as “the ability of an organism to exert itself and remain active for a long period of time, as well as its ability to resist, withstand, recover from, and have immunity to trauma, wounds, or fatigue.”

Isn’t that CrossFit in general? In all seriousness, cardiovascular and respiratory endurance is only one of the ten fitness domains that make up the core of CrossFit. The other domains include stamina, strength, flexibility, power, speed, coordination, agility, balance, and accuracy. A well-rounded CrossFit program should include varied exercises that promote physical competence in all ten areas.

A person needs to improve their “engine” to truly excel at CrossFit. There are several ways you can improve your engine.  Working on various endurance aspects such as aerobic threshold, lactate threshold, VO2 max, and speed endurance will all help you reach your full potential. The fittest men and women on earth incorporate these components to constantly refine their endurance capacity.

How do you start? How do you build better engines? How do you increase your endurance capacity? The good news is you already have a great base program.  Our daily CrossFit training is all inclusive and touches on all ten fitness domains. Anytime you see rowing, running, and an assault bike in a workout you can pretty much guarantee that you are working on refining your endurance capacity in some way. In fact, many Crossfitters can attest to the fact that the CrossFit training methodology has led to PRs in their race times without really “training” for a race. The old logic of training for races by running long distances (without predetermined workout goals) for hours on end is out. CrossFit Endurance training eliminates the unnecessary volume of training while increasing intensity. Let us take a minute to define and explain each of the aspects CrossFit Endurance will incorporate.

The aerobic threshold is the level of effort at which anaerobic energy pathways start to become a significant part of energy production. Runners want to increase their aerobic threshold because this will enable them to run a faster pace for a longer time before tapping into the anaerobic metabolism. This is important because the anaerobic metabolism cannot be sustained as long at the aerobic pathways. Aerobic threshold workouts are steady workouts at a moderate intensity to develop fuel efficiency (burn fat), the muscular skeletal system, and aerobic endurance (1).

Lactate threshold is defined as the intensity of exercise in which lactate begins to accumulate in the blood at a faster rate than it can be removed. This becomes problematic because the unbuffered acid in the blood makes you feel like you have to stop right away (2). Lactate threshold workouts are higher volume workouts with longer distance intervals at higher “threshold” intensities with less rest between reps and/or sets (1).

V02 max is defined as the maximal volume of oxygen that the body can deliver to the working muscles per minute. Although your VO2 max is largely genetic, studies have shown that targeted VO2 max training can improve your V02 max up to 15%. VO2 Max workouts are generally lower volume workouts, shorter distance intervals at higher intensities, with more rest between reps and/or sets (1, 3). An example of a workout to improve your VO2 max is a 60:60 where you work for 60 seconds max effort and 60 seconds easy recovery. If you’re running, this will be faster than 5k race pace and then recovering at a lower pace for 15-20 rounds (3).

Speed endurance is the ability to prolong the amount of time where a near maximal speed can be maintained. Speed endurance workouts are generally very low volume workouts with intervals less than 60 seconds (1, 4).  They are performed at extremely high intensities, and they are used to recruit fast twitch fibers.  The body is forced to adapt to these conditions, which leads to better endurance and recovery between reps and/or sets. An example of speed endurance workout would be something like 6 sets of shuttle run sprints (up to 30 meters) with 90 seconds rest in between sets (4).

OPCF will be launching our 6 week CrossFit Endurance program April 25th.  The program will be available to members, as well as non-members, and it is a great supplement to our current CrossFit training program. Our program will incorporate all aspects of CrossFit endurance training from aerobic capacity, lactate threshold, VO2 max, and speed endurance training. Let’s build those engines!!!!  If you are an OPCF bootcamp member or not a member of OPCF, sign up here today!

Sources:

(1) http://aerobiccapacity.com/training-plans

(2) http://www.active.com/triathlon/articles/lactate-threshold-and-v02-max-explained

(3) https://breakingmuscle.com/learn/training-to-increase-your-vo2-max

(4) http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/speedendurance.html