TwinTown CrossFit in Minneapolis

You make an excuse to get yourself off the hook after you do something bad: I’m sorry I cut you off in traffic! I wasn’t paying attention because I was texting bail instructions to my lawyer.

You make a precuse to get yourself off the hook before you’re even in the game: I had the worst day at work. Screw working out! I’m going to burrow into this plate of cupcakes and ice cream.

In the context of CrossFit precuses are a subtle but noxious form of self-sabotage that have the side effect of making you look like a douche bag. Because if you go into a WOD making precuses it means you’re not reciprocating your classmates’ energy and commitment.

Here are some common precuses that every CrossFitter has heard and that more than a few of us have made. (Myself included)

1) I’m so tired from the [insert impressive workout] I did yesterday. Hey dummy. If you’re really so tired maybe you should take a rest day.

2) RX+ How can you lose when you’re the only one playing the game?Doing the workout at more than RX takes you out of competition with the rest of the gym and sends the not-so-subtle message that you think you’re all that.

3) My PR on this workout is [insert impressive number]. Just because you rocked Fran three years ago doesn’t mean you get a pass for the rest of your life. Also, reminiscing about past victories makes you sound like a fogey.

Avoiding precuses is the one of the toughest emotional games we play, and it’s one I struggle with continually. I have to remind myself every day that my precuses show disrespect for the game, for my teammates, and for myself.

Physical laziness is how you get a butt-shaped imprint of Cheeto dust fused into your sofa cushion. The upside of physical laziness is that you won’t get hurt sitting  on the couch. You’ll probably die a gruesome death at an early age, but you’re not going to be sore all the time and you won’t have to snip skin flaps off your palm.

There is another form of laziness that afflicts the physically active. Intellectual laziness is when you repeat wrong until you get hurt. The obvious example is the person who trains for a marathon with no formal instruction in running. Is it any wonder that 85% of recreational runners are injured every year?

Intellectual laziness has another side-effect which is less dramatic but still irksome. If you continually repeat wrong your potential is confined to your physical and genetic endowment. Eventually you will plateau and you won’t have the mental tools to create a break through.

Getting past intellectual laziness is MUCH harder than getting off the couch. Most people can pry themselves off the couch, but few people have the humility to be a sincere student of the game, whatever it may be.

Intellectual laziness is a Sisyphean burden. The only way to unburden yourself is to accept that you don’t have all the answers. When you can accept this you will find your wings.

A study found that given a choice between a 5% sucrose solution and plain water, rats will always choose the sweetened solution. Given a choice between a 10% sucrose solution and a 5% solution, rats always choose the 10% solution. The problem is that a 10% solution is sweeter than anything that would ever occur in nature. This suggests that our capacity for stimulation can only be sated through artificial means.

In the olden days when we had to risk being swarmed by bees to get a fistful of honey, sweet treats were probably few and far between. Nowadays our notion of sweetness is completely distorted by the ubiquity of high fructose corn syrup, table sugar and various other sweeteners that keep our insulin pegged and our metabolisms broken.

This is the subtext of the paleolithic nutrition plan. Ancestral nutrition means eating foods that occur in nature which essentially precludes anything sweetened. But that doesn’t mean you can’t eat naturally sweet foods. Try giving your tastebuds a break from HFS for a week and then eat a handful of fresh blueberries. Prepare for your mind to be blown.

Hat tip to Jenay R. one of our Team Paleo members.

Recipe: Fish Patty Cakes (From the Primal Blueprint Cookbook)

■2 tall cans wild caught salmon (remove bones or mash them in for extra calcium!)
■2 eggs beaten
■1/4 c. minced onion (or half that of dried&rehydrated)
■2 Tbsp dried dill
■1 tsp mustard
■1/2 tsp sea salt
■1/2 tsp ground black pepper
■1/4 c. coconut flour
■Olive oil, coconut oil, or bacon fat for cooking (I tried a couple for each! You have to refill as you continue frying.)

Place drained fish in a large bowl and flake with a fork. Add eggs, onions, herbs, mustard, salt, and black pepper. Stir to mix well. Add coconut flour a little at a time, stopping with the mixture will hold together in patty shape. Heat a wide skillet with a few Tbsp of oil/fat over medium heat (lower heat if your stove runs hot!). Enough oil to fry the bottoms well, but not DEEP fry them. Shape mixture into 2-3 inch patties. Keep them the same diameter and thickness. (We tried 3″ but they fell apart when flipping.) Place patties in the hot pan, not touching each other, and cook until golden brown–about 3-4 minutes on each side. Try not to disturb them for the best outer crust formation.Use flexible thin pancake turner to flipover fish cakes. Cook the other side.

Little darling
it’s been a long, cold, lonely winter
Little darling,
it seems like years since it’s been here
Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun, and I say
It’s all right.

~George Harrison

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Our new class schedule begins on April 1!

Here’s a quick summary of changes:

1) New Friday evening classes in Uptown

2) Additional “Advanced” WOD on Sunday at noon.

3) New morning classes in NorthEast.

The new schedule will be posted online by end of week!

A study was recently published in Real Simple magazine about women and our relationship with time. The researchers suggested that instead of trying to get everything done before we rest (which is typical), we take a “weight-lifting” approach to rest in which we work hard, take a rest period to replenish, and then work again.  Since our work is rarely, if ever, “done”, this approach ensures that we will make time for periods of rest and feel stronger overall.

This metaphor really resonated with me because of my experiences lifting weights at TwinTown CrossFit. Other life lessons I’ve learned in the gym include:

–I’m stronger than I think I am.
–I can accomplish more when I know my strengths and limitations and ask for help when I need it.
–Seeing other people struggle courageously is endlessly inspiring.
–Encouraging myself in the same way I encourage others gives me more energy and strength.

What life lessons is CrossFit teaching you?

Growing up, we had one taboo in our family. Whining was not allowed. This rule was enforced by means of a so-called “pity party” – a ritual of humiliation which has the miraculous effect of turning tears into anger. Here’s a typical scenario.

Me: Sob! I stepped on a nail. It’s sticking through the top of my foot.

Sisters: Does baby have a boo boo? Let’s have a pity party! 1, 2, 3…Waaaaahhhhh!

Me: Help me get this nail out so I can kick your ass.

As a tool for emotional management  the pity party is sub-optimal because it impairs your self-compassion. The inability to feel compassion for yourself is linked to depression, substance abuse, anxiety and low self-esteem. Big bummer.

However, there is a difference between self-compassion and self-pity. Self-compassion doesn’t prevent you from progressing towards goals, and might even make you more effective. But self-pity is like having your feet encased in concrete. Forward progress stops.

If you’re feeling stuck, try to reduce the area under the self-pity curve. Get angry and watch what happens when self-pity approaches zero. You just might amaze yourself.