Showdown: McDonalds vs Subway

Alright, today's post is going to be about which "fast food" item is "less unhealthy."

Please note, this is strictly from a macronutrient composition perspective.

The contenders:

McDonald's Quarter Pounder (w/o Cheese) ("QP")

v.

6" Subway Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki ("6g of Fat Or Less") (the "sub")

I know what you're thinking.

"JO, you've gone off the !@#$ing deepend. Subway is healthy, McDonald's is not healthy. Didn't you see Supersize Me?"

Stay with me, let's get onto the analysis. Here is the nutritional information on both products:

(Sorry, I know this is hard to read, don't worry I spell it out below.)

The key macronutrients are circled. Now let's break it down.

The total amount of calories is close enough that we're not going to fuss. 30 calories isn't a large amount, it's less than 1-2% of your daily intake.

Fat:

Of course, being one of the "6g of Fat or Less" variety, the sub packs only 4.5g of fat. The QP, on the other hand, contains 29g of fat.

"JO, clearly we know the winner already. Fat makes me fat."

Wrong, fat does not make you fat. But we'll save that for another post. For now, know that unsaturated fat is good for you in that it is an energy source. It only becomes a problem if you ingest too much, and then it's purely an issue of eating too many calories.

Trans fat is what most people think of when they hear the word "fat," but it is basically illegal in any civilized country now. The QP only has 1g, we're not going to fuss.

There is a lot of debate in the scientific community about saturated fat, although the truth is it's good for you as well. Again, I'm not going to get into that here, nor do I have the expertise to. Just know that saturated fat is good too. For example, in guys, it boosts testosterone levels.

The QP packs 7g of saturated fat, far less than the average beef burger or steak. My buffalo burgers pack 6g of saturated fat each, for example. The sub, of course, only 1g.

With regard to fat, the sub simply doesn't have enough. We want calories from fat to be a significant, if not the primary, source of energy for our bodies.

Round One to the QP.

Protein:

We all know how important protein is. It's the building block of life and muscle, we need it to live. Both items are respectable here, but the sub edges out the QP just barely.

26g to 24g in favor of the sub. However, 2g of protein isn't enough to get excited about.

This one's a draw, but with an ever-so slight edge to Subway.

Carbohydrates:

This is where the QP takes the huge lead. The sub contains a whopping 60g of carbohydrates, 17 of which are sugar. The QP contains 37g, only 8 of which are sugar. The sub has over 50% more carbohydrates than the QP, and double the sugar.

So what does this mean? Why is this so bad?

More on carbohydrates in a future article. For now, understand that we need to keep carbohydrate intake to the minimum in order to be healthy, for various reasons. I've got a lot to say about excessive carbohydrate intake, but now isn't the time.

Round three is a massive win for the QP.

Summary:

The QP is the clear winner here. It has more fat, in a good way, roughly the same amount of protein, and most importantly, a substantially less amount of carbohydrates.

Now, am I saying go out an eat McDonald's every meal? No.

Am I saying McDonald's is healthy? No.

Am I saying you'll become an elite athlete fueled by cheeseburgers? No.

Am I saying a McDonald's QP is better than one of Subway's "healthy" sandwiches if you're going to indulge in a little snack? Yes, I absolutely am. Especially if it's 4am after a bender and you need something to settle your stomach.

EDIT::: People, I want to be clear. I am not suggesting you go out and eat McDonald's. QP's are NOT good for you. The point of this article was to show you that "healthy" things aren't necessarily healthy. Subway has an incredible marketing scheme that has masked the truth. Be careful when you're eating out, and eat cleanly!

The moral of the story is, don't fall for Subway's marketing techniques, or any other restaurant/fast food chain's for that matter. Look at the nutritional information yourself, and perform your own analysis.

Remember: protein = good; unsaturated fat = good; saturated fat = good; carbohydrates = keep low.

xoxohth, JO

PS - This was only a SIX INCH sub! If you're going to get a foot long, you'd be looking at 120g of carbohydrates: roughly what an average person should be eating IN A DAY!!!

Threesies

WOD:

Clean and Jerk: 185x3

Snatch: 115x3

Back Squat: 135x5, 185x5, 225x5

Everything felt heavy today, I think my body needs a rest. I haven't done heavy back squats since my injury, but 225 felt as light as it should. I probably could have done 265x5, which might be my PR (can't remember).

My chiro and doctor told me low bar back squat was what did me in, but I don't know. They don't hurt at all to do, so we'll see how it goes.

Cleaning It Up

WOD:

Split Jerk x1 : 135, 185, 205, 215, 225 (current PR), 235 (Almost, but fail, old PR)

Push Press x3 : 155, 175

Clean x1: 135, 185 (Squat), 185 (Split), 205 (Squat), 205 (Split), 225 (Squat), 225 (Split), 235 (Squat), 240 (Split), 245 (Split, -5 PR)

I haven't trained cleans only since I got back in the game, only clean and jerk. When doing the CJ, I noticed I'm not getting under the bar properly. Instead of pulling under into a squat, I was shooting my feet out into a straddle and barely reversing my hips (not good at heavy weight).

So I wanted to practice just cleans today and they felt GREAT. I believe my old PR was 250, so I am close already. Also I tried the split clean, which I think I like more. It's a lot easier to get up from, although you may not be able to get as low. I think this will make it easier to do the jerk afterwards, since my legs won't be so burnt out from squatting ~250lbs.

Met-Con:

5x10 of:

Pullups

55lb Kettlebell Swings

Pushups

A good burner, I struggled during the last two rounds and was toast at the end. Pullups were hard, but all unbroken. Broke last 2 sets of KBS and pushups into 5 and 5. I think I was burnt from the lifting.

EDIT:::

During my post-WOD Trader Joe's shop, I found something made of pure win:

WOD

Snatch: 1x3 @ 135

Clean and Jerk: 1x3 @ 155

Snatch Pull: 1x3 @ 165

Deadlift: 3x3 @ 225, 275, 315

Hanging Leg Raises (Toes to Bar): 2x10

Kipping Pullups: 1x20 (FAST)

Not much to report. Olympics felt fine, still working on my deadlift. I think part of the problem last time was foot position. I've taken a bit of a wider stance, and angled my feet out more on maybe a 30 degree angle so that my hips are in line with my pelvis, like a squat, to derive maximum power.

EDIT:::

PWO: 230g sweet potato (~60g carbs), 2x turkey burgers (2x20g protein), handful of almonds, handful of blueberries.

Turning Something Pretty Unhealthy Into Something A Little More Healthy...

Today the other interns at work were heading to Mike's Papaya (famous for their hotdogs) for lunch. I didn't want to eat alone so I tagged along. The goal was to practice what I preach, and to try and get a reasonably healthy lunch at a place known for being... well... a little less than healthy.

I thought I'd be a little creative and "diversify my bonds" with the goal of "hedging my losses."

I ordered 3 hot dogs, and 3 sausages. Pictured below is one of the sausages:

So, what did I do? I think you know what I did:

And yes, I only ate the dogs. Except one... I had one bun... because it was Friday and I deserved it.

"But, JO, hotdogs aren't healthy. Obviously. Dork"

Actually, cut away the bread and you're not doing too badly.

The hotdogs themselves aren't too horrible. I estimate maybe 15-20g of protein per weiner, and under 20g of fat probably. Zero carbs, of course (I ate them all plain, big mistake).

Now, 6 of them is more than I would eat in a normal sitting; I'm not quite sure what my theory was on that, so I definitely got more fat and protein per meal than I ordinarily would.

But at the end of the day, the meal wasn't too terrible of a thing to have. Had I cut it in half, it probably would have been just fine. Of course there is more to eating healthy than macronutrient composition, but it's still better than having eaten a sandwich, wrap, or of course the entire hot dog or a slice of pizza.

Although I have to say, I've been feeling incredibly sick the whole afternoon. I think they were pretty salty, which is another story altogether.

So there you have it: how to make a not-so-bad lunch at a place you'd never expect it possible.

What You Can Learn From Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

I saw Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen yesterday. I wasn't a fan of the first one, but I really enjoyed this one.

And yes, of course, there are things I learned from Transformers that can help you pwn workouts and life.

"But, JO... I'm not a Transformer and/or I do not possess the ability to transform..."

I know that, but there are still things you can learn that translate beyond the literal ability to transform. So here they are:

1. TEAMWORK

Mild spoiler: there's no way the humans and Autobots could have defeated the Fallen and the Decepticons if they hadn't all worked together.

"I guess that's cool, JO... but I don't plan on taking on an alien race anytime soon or anything else I can't handle on my own."

You're missing the point. The point is, humans are a species designed to be social, to support each other, and to interact. 

One of the reasons why Crossfit is so amazing is because of the group dynamic. People in a Crossfit class support each other, and push each other to new levels.

Of course it is necessary to be strong independently, but often we can accomplish incredible internal and external feats with the support or aid of friends and loved ones.

I'm not saying you need to do Crossfit, just using it as an example.

So go give your workout buddy a hug, a nice big sweaty one, and keep on being there for each other.

2. TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS/BELIEVE IN YOURSELF

Mild spoiler: Shia saves the day by doing something completely illogical that no other sane human would have told him was a good idea. But he trusted his instincts, and he believed in himself. The result: winning the war and saving the planet.

Having a positive mental outlook, and knowing that you can conquer the odds, are necessary in order to achieve greatness in life.

Additionally, we all need to trust our instincts sometimes. Not all the time, just sometimes. You know when I'm talking about. When you get that feeling in your stomach that you just know you should or shouldn't be doing something. Most of the time you're right.

Believe in yourself, and trust your instincts. You'll accomplish more than you can imagine.

3. VERSATILITY

Another reason why the Transformers are so great is because they are versatile. They fly when they need to fly, they shoot when they need to shoot, they drive when they need to drive, they look like hot chicks when they need to look like hot chicks (see the movie, it happens), and they can even throw roundhouse kicks when they need to.

And guess what: if Optimus Prime was only capable of staying in that truck-cabin form, and if Bumblebee couldn't do anything besides pickup girls as a Camaro, the story would have ended a wee-bit differently. It was the Transformers' versatility that won them the battle.

I believe that versatility is one of the most important traits for humans. Again, Crossfit focuses heavily on versatility in its definition of fitness. You may be the world's greatest long distance cyclist, but what happens if there's an earthquake and you need to move some heavy-ass rubble out of the way to clear a path to your little sister's room, pick her up, and carry her to safety (as quickly as possible, because every second counts)?

Of course this isn't going to happen in your everyday life, but you never know when you'll need to do "something."

I'm not going to get into this too much, as I'm going to write an entire article on versatility in the future.

In the mean time, go and see Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. I've already conferred to you most of what you can learn from the movie, but you can still hear some loud noises, watch stuff blow up, and see a couple really sweet shots of Megan Fox.

Onesies and a Huge Surprise

WOD:

1RM's of Snatch, Clean and Jerk, and Deadlift

Then...

(Max-rep pullups + 10 box jumps) x3

I was feeling quite sluggish today as I started, but was happy with my overall numbers.

165 Split Snatch (same as last week, -5 from PR)

225 Clean and Jerk (+10 from last week, -10 from PR)

Failed 365 Deadlift

Something is up with my deadlift. My PR is 465, and 405x5. A couple days ago I got 315x5, today 315 was hard. I think my lower back is still having trouble "engaging." My deadlift has always been very hip and back dominant, and my back just isn't working too well right now.

I'm going to replace all front/back squats in my WODs with deadlifts, with the twin aims of rehabbing my injury and getting my deadlift back up to a respectable amount.

I left the strength portion of my WOD a little dejected as my deadlift sucked. Then I did something that really, really surprised myself. My previous max-rep pullup attempt was last summer, and I did 62, and it was *hard.* This is when I was a Crossfit monster doing kipping pullups and met-con out the ying yang, I thought *maybe* getting 40-50 today would be good.

So I put on some tunes, waited for a crescendo, and hopped up onto the bar for my first set.

When I got to 20 I was feeling it.

Then all of a sudden I was at 40, and another 10 flew by quickly to 50. Somehow I got a second wind or something up on the bar.

Before I knew it I was at 55ish, and told myself "you are going to shatter your old PR."

I flew by 62, re-gripped at 65 for the first time, again at 70, and stopped at 75.

Now I know how Matt Sera felt when he KO'd Georges St. Pierre:

Needless to say I was completely shocked with my performance. I have no idea how I did it, because I'm "out of shape" for myself right now (well, getting back up there pretty quickly). My only theory is that the several months of Olympic lifting before my injury just made my hips so much more powerful doing so many kipping pullups became easy, and somehow that strength stuck with me.

Thanks for coming out, see you tomorrow for a fresh new article.

One love.

Explosive WOD

WOD:

Split Jerk: 3x3 @ 160

Push Press: 4x4 @ 135, 135, 145, 155

Jumping Squats: 3x3 @ 225, 275, 315

***

5x Kettlebell Swing @ 65

10x Situps

50m Sprint

30sec Rest

--------------

x5

OK, let's talk.

I surprised myself with the overhead stuff today. The push jerks felt clean (75% of 1RM) and I've been meaning to do more heavy push presses.

Push presses are good because they teach you to fully extend your hips, and drive up as much as possible, when pushing something overhead. This translates well to the push and split jerks. The idea in the jerks is that you want to drive the weight up as much as possible before you push yourself underneath it to catch. Most of the time, however, I find myself driving under before I've gotten the bar up as high as possible. The idea is that doing heavy push press will help me get used to driving up more.

The jumping squats were a new exercise for me, and were a blast. It was a little awkward doing it an Equinox, but luckily I know all the trainers there and one of them was right next to me the whole time.

The jumping squat is designed to make you EXPLODE! And it does just that. Get under, and JUMP as high as you can. We all know how much I love jumping. I'm hoping this will not only translate well to the Clean and Jerk and Snatch, but also to my stunts come Halloween when I dress up as Spiderman again.

The met-con was also a blast. I really like the short, "sprint" style workouts.

Each "lap" couldn't have taken more than 20 seconds. The Kettlebell Swings were heavy, 40% of my bodyweight, so I just pumped them out as 5 isn't too many. The situps I absolutely FLEW through; I don't remember ever doing situps so fast. Then I did the sprint on a treadmill set at 10 on an incline of 3.

The first two sets I was like "hmmm, this is easy," but of course I knew it would get harder. On my 3rd set of Kettlebell Swings I was starting to feel it, and of course by the time my 5th set finished I was flat on my back: the sign of a great WOD!

As I mentioned, I've been trying to improve my PWO nutrition by allocating more carbohydrate blocks to it. I had a sweet potato in the oven that was fresh and hot when I got home, along with some buffalo burgers I'd cooked before.

I had about 250g of sweet potato (60g carbs), a buffalo burger (40g protein), and maybe 12 almonds. I also threw down some blueberries for good measure.

Peace and love.

How To Not Eat Bread: A Guided Tutorial

(I'm writing this article assuming that you already know that bread is the devil. If you don't know that bread is the devil, now you know. I'll explain why in a future article, but for now, I think it's more important that someone knows how to stop eating bread, than to know why they are doing so).

This is the first of a three-part series on bread/grains. This article will cover how to get through a day without bread. The second will explain why you don't "need" bread. And the third will explain why bread and grains are bad for you.

A lot of the time, well basically every time, I explain my diet to somebody they ask me the following:

"But, JO, how do you live without bread!?!?"

Most people know bread is bad for them, but don't really know how to get through a day without eating it.

The reason why is because bread is convenient. It doesn't go bad quickly, it's cheap, it allows you to make portable meals like sandwiches and wraps, and it's straight-up tasty.

The goal of this article is to provide some insight on how to get through a day without bread.

The first thing you need to is the easiest: don't buy bread (don't buy grains at all, of course). It's that simple. If you don't buy bread, when you feel tempted to eat it as a little snack or part of a meal, it's just not going to be there. Robb Wolf said it best, "Keeping refined carbohydrates in your house is like being a married man, going to the Playboy Mansion, getting drunk, and taking ecstasy: you think you can stay in a monogamous relationship, but you just can't."

We may think we have the willpower not to eat bread we keep in the house, but most of us don't (I definitely don't!). The reality is, we're only human. If we keep temping things in the house, it's hard not to eat them. Just do your best and be disciplined, don't buy them. For a little "inspiration," check out these pictures of my fridge and freezer:

(Freezer: Spinach, Mixed Veggies, Turkey Burgers, Buffalo Burgers)

(Fridge: Water, Defrosting Meat, Pineapple Salsa, Apples, Blueberries)

I keep almonds and sweet potatoes on the counter.

Now, I'm a 22 year old dude who lives alone and runs his own schedule/life. I realize if you have a family or a significant other it can be more difficult, but do your best: challenge each other, do it together. If you keep a clean house, that's the first step to kicking the habit all together.

Unfortunately, getting rid of bread at home is the easy part for most. The hard part is doing without it while you're out and about.

Now, I don't mean when you're out for dinner on a first date.

I don't mean when it's 3 o'clock in the morning and you're stumbling to the neighborhood pizza joint after a bender.

I mean getting rid of it on a day-to-day basis; for example, on your lunch break at work. I used to be "that guy" who would never, ever, "cheat" by eating grains, but you become not fun to be around if you do that, and it's really not entirely necessary. Keep it to a minimum, enjoy yourself when you go out, and you'll stay sane and happy (and healthy). Eventually, you'll find you just don't want it anymore, and it becomes even easier to go without grains.

Now we two options for lunch: pack your own, or grab one from somewhere. Let's go through them in order.

If you're going to pack your own lunch, it may seem difficult to do without bread at first. Sandwiches and wraps are so convenient and tasty, and if you're as lazy as I am, you're going to need something quick, easy, and palatable in order to replace a sandwich.

"But, JO... what do you pack if you don't pack a sandwich or wrap?"

I'll tell you what I pack:

Pictured above are three buffalo burgers, a bunch of almonds (24ish), one gala apple, and some water, all of which fit nicely into my Samsonite messenger bag.

"But, JO... that's disgusting. I'm not just going to eat plain buffalo burger meat wrapped in saran wrap at room temperature. Just... no... you're gross, give me my sandwich back."

And you don't have to. I've gotten pretty used to what I eat, I'm very lazy, and it works for me, but there are many other options. For example, you can replace the buffalo burgers with something like canned tuna, some deli meat, or jerkey (all of which you can buy ready to eat). Or if you want to spend a little more time and be creative, you can cook up anything: some chicken, steak, salmon, whatever you want (I'm just lazy!), and throw it in a container to bring to work.

Even making yourself a salad is easy. Go buy a bag of pre-chopped lettuce, throw a couple cups in a ziplock container along with your protein and maybe some other veggies, slap some dressing on there for fat and you're good to go.

EDIT::: Just watching Josh Everett's food log on journal.crossfit.com and he reminded me of the Paleokits. Have a look here.

You'll have your nice, bread-free lunch at work, and (hopefully) will come home to a pantry completely devoid of grains.

If you're too lazy to pack your own lunch, fear not. There are many things you can do.

Here's an example of what I got for lunch today, at a little deli around the corner from my work from the hot/cold buffet:

Pictured above is a selection of chicken, beef, broccoli, mushrooms, and red peppers. This cost exactly $6, and was the perfect lunch.

Now I realize I live in New York City and have more food options close to my work than many of you might, but you can be creative at your local spots. Anywhere that makes a sandwich clearly has deli meat: get the sandwich, but ask them to hold the bread! I know it sounds weird at first, but just get a little plate, throw the stuff on there and you're good to go with meat and veggies. For your daily fat intake, just bring some almonds with you, anybody can do that.

Voila, you've made it through the day without bread. Now pat yourself on the back and enjoy your meat.

JO out.

Compound v Isolation Movements

(The "butterfly kipping pullup," pictured above, utilizes the hips, abs, biceps, forearms, rear delts, lats, and traps) 

"But, JO, how will I ever get massive biceps if I don't do bicep curls?"

Try doing the met-con part of this WOD, and then tell me your biceps aren't pumped up.

WOD:

Skill Transfer Exercises:

Hang Muscle Snatch: 3x3 @ 95#

1x Snatch Balance + 2x Overhead Squat: 3x @ 125#

Met-Con:

500m Row

Hang Power Clean + R. Lunge + L. Lunge: 5x @ 95#

20 Pullups

Power Clean: 10x @ 95#

20 Pullups

500m Row

Skill transfer exercises were pretty easy, not much to say.

The met-con, on the other hand... WOW. I haven't had a bicep pump like this in a while.

Pulling with the row, pulling with the pullups, pulling with the cleans... PULLING ALL DAY! By the time I got to the last 500m row... let's just say I had trouble pulling.

Notice that every single movement in this WOD is a "compound" movement. Compound movements involve more than one joint (as opposed to "isolation" movements which only use one joint) and allow you to move a larger amount of weight more efficiently than isolation movements. In addition, it's hard to find an "unnatural" compound movement (deadlifts, squats, pullups: all movements you see people doing naturally in the real world during various activities), whereas isolation movements, by their nature, are unnatural (let me know when you see someone doing a pec-fly or lateral raise type movement out on the street).

Compound movements are, by nature, safe. Any person on the planet can attempt a 10 000lb deadlift without injuring themselves, so long as they keep proper form. There's no way you're going to move it even a millimeter, but you won't hurt yourself.

On the other hand, it's pretty likely that someone trying for a one-rep max hamstring curl is going to injure themselves or others around them. Our hamstrings aren't meant to work on their own, you'll never see someone just pulling with their hamstrings and nothing else anywhere besides the gym.

No, I'm not saying you need to get a full hip extension and reversal of the hips when you're picking up your child. No, I'm not saying run around cleaning and jerking infants, that's not safe (plus infants aren't heavy enough). This is just an example of how compound movements are seen in everyday life. Click here to read a story about how Crossfit helped a grandma so she could pick up her grandchild.

Since compound movements allow you to move a larger amount of weight using more muscle groups, they are much more demanding on your body, and elicit a much more potent neuro-endocrine response than isolation movements. This means that your body is going to secrete growth hormones, testosterone (if you're a guy), insulin light-regulation hormone, and all of that good stuff when you do heavy compound movements. Bicep curls and lateral raises, on the other hand, will not: they simply aren't taxing enough on your whole body for any kind of neuro-endocrine response.

The result is, when you do compound movements, your entire body is going to get bigger, even if you're not isolating any part in particular (actually, because you're not isolating any part in particular). Fact: guys who go to the gym and only do squats and deadlifts will have bigger arms than guys who go to the gym and only do bicep curls.

Bottom line: kill the bicep curls, or gradually ease off of them, and start lifting heavy stuff with your whole body. It's more fun, more effective, more safe, more efficient, and you just look cooler doing it.

Sidenote: I haven't worked bicep curls in over two years and my biceps are bigger than they were two years ago. I can also bicep curl more (just as a test!), like, double, than I could when I trained bicep curls.

But hey, don't take my word for it. Try it yourself.

Happy lifting!

Sidenote 2/Newsflash: Gymnasts don't do bicep curls and have big biceps

What We Can Learn From True Blood - EAT MEAT!!!

"But, JO, what does True Blood have to do with pwning workouts and life? What can I possibly learn from watching those horrid creatures slay innocent women after having sex with them (most of the time)?"

I'll tell you what you can learn. Vampires drink BLOOD. Vampires feed from things that were living, that had a face and a soul. Oh, and the show just rocks in general.

We humans need to do the same. No, I'm not saying go out manhunting with your Dracula costume on and start sucking the blood from the neck of a homeless person (and I hereby release myself from all liability in case any of you crazy folk decide to do so.) I'm saying go to the store and buy something that looks like this:

Red meat consumption has several health benefits. Red meat increases your androgen levels, which is well known for increasing muscle mass and other nifty things. Red meat also contains creatine, which is one of the few supplements (if taken as one) scientifically proven to do anything.

But perhaps most importantly, meat contains PROTEIN, the building block of life and muscle mass. Watch this video from Robb Wolf, who you can read about here, on why you need to eat "proteins with a face."

The other interns at work give me a really hard time about bringing my buffalo burger patties to work, wrapped in saran wrap at room temperature. Maybe after they read this post they'll know why I do it, and will stop hating. Speaking of which, time to fire up the old George Forman and throw some buffalo on it.

BLUEBERRIES!!!

My friend Roz just tipped me off on a wicked sale (if you happen to live in BK heights, happen to read this blog, and happen to get there before the sale ends... all of which are unlikely).

3 boxes of blueberries for $5 *TOTAL*.

Reason why this sale pwns: blueberries pwn in general, but are usually pretty expensive, and a poor starving law student like me can't afford them.

Click here to read more reasons why blueberries pwn

A Good Start

I am currently on my fourth week of CA programming since my return to the gym. I am already getting my numbers back close to my previous "Personal Records" ("PRs").

WOD:

Snatch 75% of One Rep Max ("1RM") (125#) 1x3

Clean and Jerk 70% of 1RM (150#) 1x3

Snatch Pull 90% of 1RM (150#) 3x3

Front Squat 84% of 1RM (205#) 2x4

Deadlift 3x5 (135#, 225#, 315#)

Hanging Leg Raises 3x15

I had a great WOD today!

The snatches were a cinch, not much else to say. I felt really powerful, and ripped the bar over my head no problem. I have been doing the split-snatch as of late, for no reason other than because I like it more and seem to have more success with it. However, before my injury, I usually used the regular-snatch.

Clean and Jerk, same deal. I do a clean and split-jerk. My clean and jerks haven't felt as good as my snatches since my return, but the set today felt good. I think the problem has been that I haven't been keeping my body tight and mind focussed during my lifts. It makes a a huge difference doing so. Also, I've focussed on lifting the bar slowly through the first pull, and only exploding during the second (as opposed to the "grip and rip," pulling fast straight off the ground).

Snatch Pulls, easy.

Front Squats are another story. I am still having trouble "engaging" my lower back, and using it to stabilize my torso. Therefore, I've had a hard time keeping my upper body upright during my front squats. I made it through the sets, but not easily!

DEADLIFTS!!! I haven't really trained deadlifts since I started doing CA 8+mths ago. My previous 5RM PR was 405lbs. I was VERY happy with 315 today, as I felt I had more in the tank (maybe 355). I'm going to start adding deadlifts in at the end of WODs whenever I can, hopefully at least a couple times a week.

Hanging Leg Raises I copped out and did 1x15 and 1x10, as my abs are very sore from yesterday.

Nutrition:

I am going to try very hard to improve my Post Workout ("PWO") recovery meals. I'm adding a sweet potato in, recommended by Robb Wolf, as well as some turkey and almonds of course.

Also for the past couple weeks I've been taking CellMass PWO in an effort to get jacked and tanned. So far it's not doing too much.

Where Do We Stand?

For those who are unaware, I am still coming off of a severe back injury. Around mid-January I pulled a number on my lower back, which was diagnosed as (probably) a couple minor herniated discs. No idea how, no idea why, but I think it was from not warming up properly before doing some heavy low-bar back squats. I was out of the gym for four months, so I am still working on getting my strength back up. I also lost about 14lbs (from 164 down to 150) over the duration of my injury, so I'm working on adding some Lean Body Mass ("LBM") back.

WODs:

I am currently following Catalyst Athletics ("CA") programming (www.cathletics.com).

I like to call CA "Crossfit with a strength-bias." While Crossfit is, undoubtedly, the best programming for "overall fitness," I enjoy lifting heavy stuff and doing short, "sprint" type met-con ("cardio") workouts. So for me, CA is the way to go. Every workout begins with some Olympic and Power lifting, and a couple a week finish with a short, Crossfit-style met-con workout.

CA is the best programming I have found for increasing your proficiency in lifting heavy, while still maintaining a very respectable met-con level.

Nutrition:

I am currently eating the following daily:

Protein: 4 buffalo burgers (160g protein total), 1 pack ground turkey (100g protein) or 4 turkey burgers (80g protein)

Carbohydrates: A couple apples (2-4, aprox 20g carbs each), a couple servings of veggies (2-3, aprox 25g carbs each)

Fat: A bunch of almonds. I don't count, I just throw down mouthfuls at a time. I estimate between 60-80 a day.

I'm not following a strict zone ratio right now, but I feel good. You can crunch the numbers for yourself. I allocate maybe 33-50% of my carbohydrates post-WOD when possible.

Life:

I finished my first year of law school at Brooklyn Law School this past May. I had a great year, and met some great people. I am currently working for a judge at the New York Supreme Court (Commercial Division), which has also been a blast.