Nutrition, Work Ethic, & Other Lessons -- What Kenny Arnoroff gets that many people don't

Such delinquency!   My apologies for not having posted in quite some time.

Last night I went to a drumming clinic featuring Kenny Aronoff.  Kenny is a prolific drummer who has worked with so many artists, that I would need a few pages to churn out his credentials, so here is the link to his website so you can check him out for yourself.
http://kennyaronoff.com/

During the course of the evening he played some songs, explained some technique, his warm up drills, his way of working on problems, perfecting his skills, explained much about the music business, and some of the work he has done.  It became quite clear that this guy was a pro, and his success did not stem from talent straight out of his mother's womb, or dumb luck; this guy worked (and continues to work) his ass off.
Following the jam session Kenny took some questions form the audience and expanded on some musings about life, work, perfection, and surprisingly ...nutrition!
Most of his thoughts on those points echo my own when it comes to training, but are also true to almost anything in life to which you would like to be successful in.*

• It's all about hard work,  you cannot be afraid to put in the hours it takes to succeed...try it all, and never stop learning.  He said " Go ahead...go ahead and be lazy...I'm going to smoke you!"...and the guy works ....all....the....time.  
• As a society we strive for perfection, beat boxes replace drummers, music is fabricated and produced, and may be bloody near "perfect" except there will always be something missing in it: humanity.  Perfection does not exist, only working hard to be the best that you can be in that moment.
• He is 58 years old ( Really?!  He looks a little over 40) and attributes his great shape to proper eating:  no to very little processed foods,  sugar, simple carbs, meats that are raised in a more humane, old fashioned way, and says that his trainer told him that nutrition was the foundation of health and counted for at least 80%  of weight/health issues. 

These rang so true that I found myself yelling out loud " Hallelujah!" because indeed he was preaching to choir, and of course found myself slightly red-cheeked because at the moment of my jubilation the room had fallen silent...and all eyes were on me.  My friend was kind enough to step in and save me by saying "She's a personal trainer (as if that would excuse me)...we were just commenting on how most people don't get it"

It was a rare moment in time where impossibly binary set of images met, aligned, and formed a completely new picture!  What's that you say?  The rocker drummer who believes in working hard, being healthy, eating his vegetables, and believes the path to success lies in his work ethic, people skills and  self improvement?
(and is not being the personification of a "stupid drummer" jokes,  living off a steady diet of fast food, Jack Daniels, groupies, and blow)
How wonderful!  As I looked around the room at the faces of the other spectators listening to Kenny speak about what he eats I could not help but witness the vacant stares and gaping mouths...
Sadly, this information may have fallen on deaf ears and perhaps written off by other patrons as a musician's eccentricity when really he tried giving them the wake up call of their lives.
Obesity.  Heart Attacks. Diabetes....the sinister trinity Kenny is trying to avoid....if you ask me, he's doing a pretty awesome job.



* On a side note, this reminds to about a great book that I ready recently called "Bounce" written by Matthew Syed... an entertaining read about success and the talent vs practice myth.  Here is the jacket blurb:
 Why have all the sprinters who have run the 100 meters in under ten seconds been black?

What''s one thing Mozart, Venus Williams, and Michelangelo have in common?

Why are baseball players so superstitious?

We love to win and hate to lose, whether it''s on the playing field, in the office, or in the classroom. In this bold new look at human behavior, award-winning journalist and Olympian Matthew Syed explores the truth about our competitive nature?why we win, why we don''t, and how we really play the game of life.

Bounce reveals how competition?the most vivid, primal, and dramatic of human pursuits?provides vital insight into many of the most controversial issues of our time. From biology and economics to psychology and culture, from genetics and race to sports and politics,Bounce shows how competition provides a master key with which to unlock the mysteries of the world.

The Weight of a Nation

A great documentary...definitely Something everyone should watch
http://theweightofthenation.hbo.com/

FAT

Fat. A small word that casts a long, and dark shadow. This tiny, monosyllabic word instills about as much, if not more fear in the hearts of women (and men!) than death.
In fact according to "some scientific study", most people would prefer to die than be obese.
Whether that is true or not, I would not be able to say for sure, however as a personal trainer I do know that many people would do anything to lose weight.... Except eat properly and exercise.
The subject of "fatness",weight, fitness, looking and feeling good, sex appeal, body image, and beauty are blurred and confused. Why do some people with fit looking bodies have poor body image? Why does the woman with curves want to look like an ironing board?
It is exasperating, tiring, and sad when I encounter young women, older women, and increasingly more men who don't like their perfectly functional, healthy, and fit bodies. Do most " dull normals" who workout look like Jamaican sprinters? No, but they also don't eat and train like them... They are not professional athletes!

I think it boils down to balance in life, and respect for the body we were given. The way you seem to yourself and look to others in that body, in my opinion, reflects from how you feel about your body...Mae West was onto something when she said that "sex appeal is 50% what you got , and 50% what people think you've got".
Confidence is beautiful. Health is beautiful, and beauty comes in all shapes and sizes.
This brings me to Crossfit.
One of the reasons why I embraced to CrossFit community was because of the emphasis on strength being beautiful, and the inclusive nature of its programming: whatever shape, size, sex, or age you are, you can benefit from increased health benefits. It was a breath of fresh air! Box gyms void of mirrors and fluff... Only basic strength, fitness and improved health for all.
This concept (although not new) freaked out a whole industry... A HUGE industry: the fitness industry. CrossFit challenged an industry built on the image of being beautiful meant you had the perfect body void of fat, an industry built on selling fitness products and gadgets, infomercials, magazines, supplements, shoes that "tone" your butt 26% more than regular shoes, and get fit quick schemes.
Crossfit was about fitness and health for all.
Emphasis on the past tense. Enter Crossfit's growing pains as well as Reebok.

Crossfit's success may be its own demise: anything that grows in popularity that quickly tends to attract both fervent criticism, as well as people wanting to jumps on the bandwagon and squeeze the goodness out of it.
Reebok, the same company who is currently entangled in a bunch of false advertising lawsuits regarding their Easy Tone clothing lines (that promised to reduce body fat when you wore tenor garments and toning shoes), latched onto to Crossfit in order to revitalize it's brand and breathe life ( and profits) into its lagging sales.

What better forum to peddle and advertise their clothes: the sport of fitness has arrived indeed... And so has all the bullshit that comes along with a multimillion sportswear company trying to capitalize on their investment.
their add campaigns do not involves older or "fatter" individuals... Only hard sweat slick bodies pounding out reps , looking all "elite"... If you look at the more recent Crossfit articles published involving Crossfit athletes there are at least as many booty shorts, bra tops, and silicone boobs as in Oxygen magazine.
Another article claimed that Crossfit could help you go from a 7/10 to a 10 on the hotness scale.
And now the community is morphing, changing, growing, and dividing. Where is will go, we don't really know. I do know that I will continue to enjoy the workouts, the training, and the people in my entourage and community who embrace the same health values and all-inclusive access to fitness as I do.
I will continue to do my best, and be happy with what my body has done and hopefully it will continue to surprise me in it's ability, and good health. I will do my best to respect it, and love it for what it is.

CrossFit Open WODs 12.3 and 12.4

Here we are: week 4. The third workout came and went and the 4th is looming over my head.

12.3 proved to be extremely painful. It consisted of an 18 minute AMRAP* of 15 20" box jumps, 12 75lb push presses/ jerks, and 9 toes to bar. I managed to squeeze out 238 reps or 6 rounds + 15 box jumps and 7 presses. Not too bad. The aftermath was brutal: traps and back sore for 3 days.

12.4 is a whole different animal. This WOD us definitely a herd culler:
2 brutal benchmark WODs separated by 90 double unders... Oh yeah, and you get 12 mins to do it.
" Karen" (150 wallballs @ 20/14 lbs.)
90 double unders
30 muscle ups

Not too many people out there can complete a full round. Most people will be lucky to score 240 (wall balls and double unders)
My goal is to get 241. Perhaps that goal is lofty, only time and wallballs will tell.



*As Many Rounds As Possible

Reset Button

Taking a break. Having a rest day. Mentally resetting the clock. Taking a week off and vacationing is probably the last thing on most people's mind one week before the CrossFit 2012 Open.

Most of us are wound up tighter than a nun at lent before a competition, I have learned over the years that that stress is a greater disservice than anything else.

Sure, some stress is good and keeps you sharp, but if you have trained well, didn't shirk the work, and remained consistent before your event...that crucial week before it goes down is a great opportunity to taper, get into a calmer head space, and calm the eff down.

So I packed my bags and went to Jamaica for a week. I put "The Open" in a box on a shelf, and did what 90% of us should do more often , and relaxed.

Walks on the beach, sitting in the sun, having a few drinks, good belly laughs with friends, and some mid afternoon hoops thrown in for good measure. No pressure to perform.

Vacationing before a competition should not equate a slovenly pig out. I ate relatively well while there, did not drink to excess (for the most part), and I did workout 6 times...because I felt like it, not because I felt I had to.

When the 12.1 Open WOD was announced I was sitting with my feet up on our hotel room balcony, and felt completely unfazed by the " 7 mins AMRAP* Burpees touching a target 6" overhead".

It is what it is. I quickly thought of my strategy, ran it through in my mind, and satisfied with my plan, put it back in the box on the shelf...labeled: Do Not Open until Sunday, February 26th.

and promptly went back to relaxing and not dwelling on it.

Best. Decision. Ever.

I scored well for both the burpees WOD (104 in 7 mins) and WOD 12.2 (66 reps of Snatches = 30@ 45lbs, 30 @75lbs, and 6 @ 100lbs. There was a 10 min cap), and I'm hoping that the rest I had will carry me through the 3 more weeks of workouts.

To be continued...

Now pass the rum cream.

* As Many Reps As Possible

Squats, O-Lift and Core Stregth

Another great article by Charles Poliquin.

Looking to improve your explosivity? Core strength and stability for sport?

http://www.charlespoliquin.com/Blog/tabid/130/EntryId/917/Tip-264-Perform-Squats-and-Olympic-Lifts-for-Greater-Core-Strength-and-Power.aspx

Told you so!

Train on my friends....train on.

O-Lift, Squats, and core strength. Great article by CHarles Polliquin..

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