CrossFit Level 1 Trainer Certification Course - Singapore 11.27.2011

It was an informative and inspiring CrossFit  Level 1 Trainer Certification last month at CrossFit Singapore! I am grateful to the Boz, Trace and Doug for being patient with all our questions. There were so many queries but they took the time to address all of them.

with the Boz and Aaron

I studied the CrossFit training manuals and journal articles through and through, but hearing Adrian Bozman's explanations still gave me a much more comprehensive understanding of the concepts behind CrossFit. The honesty, depth, clarity, and brevity of the instruction is just top notch and I think would be difficult to find anywhere else. It was also gratifying to learn that my understanding of the nine foundation movements were up to speed- this bolstered my confidence as a coach and also put to rest some questions I had regarding these movements.

with Doug Armstrong

I'm also glad that I took the Level 1 Cert with a few months of being an apprentice trainer at CrossFit MNL under my belt. This gave me first hand experience that allowed me to see right away how the concepts are applied.

With all these preparations, come the second day I was completely confident in my capability to answer the certification test.

with Trace

It was quite interesting doing the classroom sessions, hands on work, and wods with the other seminar participants. We were from different parts of the globe but it's clear we shared the same passion. We had just met there for the first time but we were all already buddies helping each other where we can, pushing and cheering each other in the wods (workouts of the day). No one was a slouch, each attendee talked the talk and walked the walk! The community spirit of CrossFit is indeed genuine and borderless.

Seminar attendees after the wod on the first day.

Thank you also to Coach Kevin Lim for hosting the seminar. CF Singapore is instrumental in spreading and elevating the level of CrossFit here in South East Asia. Wearing gas masks in met-cons is just wild!

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Having received my test results via email last December 7, 2011, I can now say that I am a certified CrossFit Level 1 Trainer. Congratulations also to coach Aaron!

Ido Portal's Movement Workshop

After just two days with Ido Portal on his Movement Workshop, he has given me a great wealth of information and insights that have already influenced how I approach fitness training. My thoughts on body weight strength training were reinforced, and more. Ido showed us not just the efficacy of bodyweight strength and mobility training, but how they are essential components of any functional fitness training program.

Ido showing us proper active
shoulders for pull ups...

Working on handstand, planche, dip, pull up progressions do so much more than just improve strength, they actually redefine it in a sense. With these movements what you get is not just raw, brute, contractile strength of the limbs, but a more stable, refined, and efficient ability to apply yourself in movement. Body weight strength training does a lot to also improve coordination, balance, body awareness, and accuracy of movement.

... And what it can lead to.

Also, I cannot overstate the value of the joint prep and mobility work that Ido presents. It's not just about learning more radical ways of stretching yourself into a pretzel. It's about which mobility exercises are important preparations for different kinds of activities, and why they are important. With his mobility exercises, I can actually carry weight on my back and over my head more safely and effectively!

Prior to the workshop I have already been a fan of body weight strength training, practicing the frog stand, some planche progressions and the handstand (or not, apparently I was just leaning on the wall inverted, wasting my time without any f***ing clue. hahaha!). I thought I would get stronger and then in time, just "get" it somehow. But with what I learned from Ido, I now have a more complete understanding of how to build my strength and coordination through the proper progressions. I now have a proper roadmap toward a true handstand and planche. Now it's just a matter getting my boots dirty and walking up the path. Someday soon!

I am very thankful for having had the opportunity to train and learn under Ido Portal and Odelia Goldschmidt. Just seeing them move is already a treat in itself! In time, I hope to be able to improve myself and come closer to their level of self mastery.

(To date, 10 days after the workshop, and still without implementing Ido's full program (I just practiced his hand balancing drills here and there in my free time), my personal record so far has become a 5 second full handstand from a kick up. That's a 500% improvement from my pre-Ido practice! I'll post a video once I'm past 10 seconds.)

Ido Portal's Movement Workshop day one

I am just so tired from day 1 of Ido Portal's movement workshop. All those midline stabilization drills, hand balancing progressions, and movement prep has left me spent literally from my fingers to my toes. And he says that it's really not strength work yet, just work capacity training! That is one of the lessons that I got from this day. I'm weak! And, I can say that with a smile on my face. No where else to go but up! I'm tired, but also so amazed at the breadth and depth of the information that I was able to gather.

Ido showing us how to balance a handstand with
Odelia Goldschmidt.

Even just the warm ups and preparatory exercises for the wrists, forearms and shoulders were already such gems- add in the handstand, pull up, and dip progressions and you get a treasure trove of exercises that will get any person (yes, that means even you!) stronger and more mobile, and while using a minimal amount of equipment. The value really is in the coaching, the progressions, and the programming of the training in order to get people progressing from their current level of  strength, coordination, and balance, up to greater and greater heights.

And on a different note, Ido Portal is really my kind of coach. He doesn't mince words, very diligent and uncompromising in his methods, and shows how it is to really be able to bring out the best in the athletes that he trains. That is, with quality, concise instruction and proper cues that are easy to understand, and an unwavering focus on getting the athlete to perform correctly what needs to be done. To quote him: "if you are a good coach, then you are an asshole already". Haha!

One more full day of learning tomorrow, and I'm ready to learn more. I just hope my body will be rested up and ready as well!

When I grow up, I want to be just like Ido!

Rejuvination and inspiration

I have to confess, I've become somewhat complacent these past few months.

Upon being a member and then an apprentice trainer at Crossfit MNL, and practicing more the paleo/ancestral way of eating and living, I've seen myself improve immensely. I've become stronger (increased my deadlift by 40 lbs without exclusively training for it) and more balanced (I can now do a frogstand for 30 seconds consistently, and am starting to be able to do a true handstand) while maintaining my aerobic endurance (10km run stayed at around 1 hour) and increasing my anaerobic endurance and stamina (fran time decreased from 11 minutes to 7 ). I've also become more confident and capable as a coach, being exposed and trained more and more in teaching proper movement mechanics and encouraging an increasingly diverse group of people.

You'd think with that with those improvements that others see in me, that I'd be more inspired to do more. In fact, I've felt a little bit burned out on occasion, and gave myself some leeway to slack of a bit. I guess that did have it's purpose, but that has gone it's course and it's high time to get back in the saddle again. After gaining those accomplishments it's been more than a month already that I've been slacking off in training and in eating. Thank goodness I haven't regressed (I hope!), but I pretty much am certain that I stalled.

With the help and encouragement of my dearest, I did see the need to reset myself and take opportunities that present themselves. So even when I didn't really feel that I was up to it yet, I signed up for the movement workshop by Ido Portal (also with the help of Crossfit MNL) and the Crossfit Level 1 Trainer Certification Course at Crossfit Singapore. Bahala na.

But now, with these things on my plate, I'm starting to be more diligent in my habits again. I'm eating and sleeping better again, which in turn gives me more energy to train myself more.

Also, I was lucky enough to see first hand what Ido Portal and his group are capable of, and it's just jaw dropping. I'm at a loss to describe the level of mastery that they've achieved with bodyweight strength. You really have to see it for yourself, no photo or video can suffice. Now, I realize again the importance of surrounding myself with people better than me.

I foresee these to be very exciting times ahead.

Let's go!

Lent and eating

(Belated) Happy Easter everyone! Just wanted to share a few thoughts that I had over the Holy Week, regarding religion, spirituality, and physical training.

"Strong people are harder to kill than weak people, and more useful in general."

- Mark Rippetoe

Jesus Christ was a strong person. So strong, that He actually conquered mortality. He was able to break free of worldly limitations. And He offers us the same freedom, if only we follow His example.

This is what I believe that Lent is about. This season is a reminder for us that we don't really need much in order to live good and fulfilling lives. In fact, if we examine Jesus' example, we'd see the value in practicing self control and training ourselves physically as well as mentally in order to endure more. In learning to master our own emotions and preconceptions, we can express ourselves more honestly and clearly to the world. When we temper our hearts and souls to not mind the little things, we will be able to see the larger view. When we complain less, we can help more. When we crave less, we can give more.

Of course, reminders such as this, along with all rituals and symbols, have meaning if and only if the values they represent are truly learned and applied. They remain relevant only as long as we open ourselves up to them and let them make us stronger.

One of the easiest ways we can examine ourselves and how we are able to respond to the lessons of the Lenten season is to look at our food consumption. Abstaining from luxury foods is one of the most popular Lenten practices. We tell ourselves that to be good Catholics, during Lent we will abstain from the delicious desserts that we otherwise would enjoy regularly. Most of us are actually able to go through the motions quite well.

But what happens after? All to often we see ourselves bouncing back to our old ways with a vengeance, just like Lent didn't happen at all. No change, no lessons learned, no growth. Just like all those haphazard jumping into and out of detox and other faddish diets.

Personally, with my quest to clean up my diet (which does not necessarily coincide with Lent) I have realized that we need not much more than cheap, fresh, locally grown produce in order to make our bodies flourish. Most of everything else is indulgent luxury. Moreover, imported, processed food are often too nutritionally imbalanced and cost too much resources to manufacture and transport that a purist would see that consuming these foods regularly can actually be an injustice.

I admit, though, that I haven't been able to totally stay away from these. I still indulge myself from time to time. This usually happens when I'm celebrating an occasion, or out with friends or family. But at the least, I now recognize that I don't need to eat sweets and other luxury foods regularly in order to stay happy, and have been consuming them less and less.

Swallowing the bitter pill

(Ampalaya is bitter gourd. A very horribly bitter gourd. Photo taken from Wikipedia)

How often do you eat ampalaya? How about okra?

Hopefully most of you have a taste, or at least tolerance, for these kinds of foods. For some reason, my parents and grandparents seem to like them- we have pinakbet served at home regularly. But not me. I haven't had the fortune of growing a taste for these nutritious vegetables. Yet.

In the interest of living healthier, I have resolved to clean up my diet and get used to eating these kinds of vegetables. I've told myself that from now on, I will not refuse a serving of vegetables whenever I am at the meal table, no matter what is in it. And even though earlier tonight at dinner my stomach heaved a bit in protest, so far I haven't eaten those words.

I don't have much of a method to my effort, I just man up and scarf down those veggies. I guess it's just like doing a high volume workout: just grind through the motions at a steady pace and don't dilly dally, all else be damned. Then hopefully, sooner or later the body adapts.

Sometimes, food and drink is selected and consumed for pleasuring the pallate, to help calm and clear the mind of stress, to celebrate special occasions, or to lubricate otherwise grating social occasions. But beyond these, we should also see food by their primary function: as our fuel.

Drugs for muscle pains?

I had a pretty grueling workout session this week, leaving me with a pretty funny wobble when I go down stairs. Three days after, my quads are the most painful they've been, though at least I'm just starting to get back my leg strength (I can now walk pretty normally and can do a pistol squat or two).

Anyone who has had a passing interest in fitness and exercise probably would be familiar with the delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). This is pain that manifests around a day or two after a muscle or group of muscles are worked specially hard.

While DOMS is a regular occurrence in strength training, in my experience it is usually just an inconvenience. However, once in a while I'd get an unusually bad case where my mobility and strength are noticeably decreased, such that my workout schedule and sometimes even my daily productivity are affected. These times, I'd talk to my friends and colleagues and look around the internet for published articles and forum discussions regarding the latest best practices for alleviating the soreness and get back to training the soonest.

This time, I was quite tempted to use non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs like ibuprofen, naproxen, or aspirin) as opposed to before when I would just not mind the pain and discomfort. However, reading through some online stopped me from doing so.

Apparently, studies determining the efficacy of NSAIDs in treating DOMS are conflicting in their findings, varying from those showing possible positive effects, to those showing no effect at all (Connolly et al., 2003).

This next quote sums up the arguments against using anti-inflammatory drugs for exercise recovery quite well:

"NSAID use, however, carries with it the risk of overuse and misuse, which could result in potential side effects such as stomach ulcers, liver damage, and kidney failure. In addition, inflammation itself is a necessary part of muscle remodeling and regeneration after muscle injury. Interfering with this natural healing process could conceivably be detrimental to long-term muscle health and recovery." (Sayers, 2008)

It is true that some studies support the effectiveness of NSAIDs and maybe even some readers would stand as testaments in support of this. But in the light of the conflicting studies and inherent risks, I would advice caution when considering use of any medicine (even over the counter ones) without a prescription.

My opinion, which comes from basic common knowledge, is this: drugs like ibuprofen are medications, used for the treatment of illnesses. Muscle soreness due to exercise is not an illness. Unless you have a fever, gout, arthritis or any other medical condition, I think it would be best if you stick to proper nutrition, rest, and maybe the occasional supplement.

One other thing, is that pain usually is a sign of an issue you have to address. You don't just pop a pain killer while keeping your hand on a steaming kettle, right? Maybe you should swallow your pride and take it easy for a bit, and increase your training load more gradually.

Part of exercising at high intensities and volumes is the task of grinding through the pain, both during and after. It makes us better.

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REFERENCES

Sayers, Stephen P. 2008.
Treatment of delayed onset muscle soreness: Is preventon the answer? Gatorade Sports Science Institute 11 Mar, 2011
GSSI Sports Science Library
http://www.gssiweb.com/Article_Detail.aspx?articleid=725&level=3&topic=10

Connolly, D.A.J., Sayers, S.P., & McHugh, M.P. 2003.
Treatment and prevention of delayed-onset muscle soreness. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 17, 197-208.

Why we need to take notes

As we all know, 1/12 of the year just passed us. I think we all need to ask ourselves this question: where are we with regards to our new year resolutions? With our performance this past month, will we really be able to reach the goals, fitness related or not, that we've set for this year?

If you said no, or are reading up till here without being able to decidedly answer a "yes", then you are probably among those who need to reasess the measures you have in place to help you be able to reach your goals.

For this purpose I'd like to share to you a helpful tool that I have used effectively for more than a year now: a notebook. At school and work, we read textbooks, manuals, presentations, take down (or photocopy someone else's) notes. Without these things, it will be almost impossible to

track, analyze, and improve on previous work. Why not have the same for our personal

activities? Documentation is essential for clarity.

For fitness and athletic training, recording your workouts and performance is a great aid to ensuring that your are able to stick to your programs, and see if your training is effective for you. You will be able to compare your performance today with that from a few weeks, months, or years ago. You will be able to record your personal bests. These personal bests and past performances, now become targets that you have to surpass. You become more accountable to yourself.

A page from my workout log from 2009. Smudged and barely legible, but did it's job well.

Incidentally, this is also a big reason why the conditioning workouts that I post here on the blog have at least 1 performance-dependent variable, mostly either volume (sets x reps) or time. This way, even with bodyweight exercises you are still able to measure your performance and compare with other times you did those same workouts.

As you fill in your notebook with more workdays and gather more information on your performance, you'll also be more able to control the elements of your training to suit your needs. You'll be able to clearly see your rate of improvement, analyze if you're starting to plateau or overtrain, then make adjustments to improve at your optimum rate and minimize injury.

I'd suggest even putting there your food intake and the amount of rest you had prior to your workouts or training sessions, so that you can correlate those with your performance as well.

You can be as detailed as you want, as long as you don't get lost in it. You also can do it as concisely as just jotting down "ran 3km in 26 minutes this morning, took it easy because I had a late night". As long as you are able to keep track of your performance, it will still help you stay honest and realistic with your training.