Whole Life Challenge (WLC) challenged our CFI community to grind out 42 days of discomfort in the pursuit of healthier lifestyles. We supported one another and witnessed remarkable transformations. Whether you were applauding someone for cutting out his soda intake or laughing at the humorous journal entries, WLC was certainly a “collective suck” for 31 of our members, yet we may have benefited in very different ways.
What WLC Looked LIke for Us
Each person signed up for this opportunity with a different goal in mind.  WLC consists of these 7 daily habits:
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The WLC app allows you to track these achievements throughout the day, and you can see how you’re stacking up on the leaderboard.  When reflecting, other gym members can see what you decided to talk about--struggles that day, focuses tomorrow, or philosophical waxing about random topics (looking at you, Ethan).  What’s super cool is that WLC emails you a weekly recap of how you did, so you end up with a snapshot of your performance and journal entries.  I find this really easy to read for future benefit.
 
Who Excelled
CFI was fortunate to recognize some awesome performances during this time period.  Congratulations to those who finished, excelled, and surprised themselves!

Here’s special shootout to those who achieved 75% or more of the total possible points over the 6 weeks:

Coach Josh’s Top 10 Takeaways
As an observer and participant, I saw many great and wonderful things that happened for our community.  Here are my top 10 highlights of CrossFit Indianapolis' WLC experience:

1. Don’t Be Humble about Your Results.  Numbers don’t lie.  Did you PR your baseline WOD?  That’s not a result of experience; it’s a result of 6 weeks of concentrated hard work.  Be proud.
   
   
2. Give Yourself Grace.  WLC is about habit formation, not perfection.  Don’t beat yourself up if you are disrupted from sleep or hydration on occasions.  Rather, focus that energy on how to settle back into the habit.  Grace, not perfection, is the way.
   
   
3. Am I Competitive?  You bet.  Let’s face it, not everyone responds to point systems and gamification.  But if you found yourself motivated by the leaderboard like me, harness that motivation!  Look up apps like StickK and Momentum that can quantify your goals.
   
   
4. What’s Easy for Me Can Be a Devil for You.  Each person has unique challenges in and out of the gym.  We should all be thankful to the vulnerability shown during this challenge… because that can lead to increased support!
   
   
5. Meal Sharing is Caring!  Nutrition can be the toughest part of the day, but many of our members shared their go-to meals, whether it was in the morning or on the go.  I can’t overstate how helpful it is to share your make-meals-easy tips.
   
   
6. “Kelly” Can Be a Real B!%$#.  Our baseline WOD was long, bruising workout.  I applaud everyone who tackled it twice because it’s just as much mental as it is physical.  I hope you experienced a game-day approach to the second try.
   
   
7. Bonus Tokens Can Be a Part of Regular Life.  I was nervous about Indulgence tokens at first, but those set a good example for moderation.  Nutrition isn’t about perfection, it’s about intentional good choices that space out those indulging moments.  I plan to incorporate a bonus-token mentality to enjoying poor-choice foods moderately.
   
   
8. Coaches Struggle Just as Easily.  When it comes to lifestyle, there is no one person that’s a role model.  My hope is that members can pick out strengths among other WLC participants and ask them about tips and tricks to improve a certain area of habit.
   
   
9. Calendar Commits Reduce Quit. One beautiful thing about WLC is that they set the 6-week period.  They don’t cater to special requests.  Instead of negotiating with yourself about when to start a diet, programs like WLC help you stick to the plan.
   
   
10. Don’t Call CrossFitters Uncommitted.  Let’s face it, 6 weeks feels like 6 months.  However, several athletes participated despite being sidelined by injuries or derailed by business travel.  Call CrossFitters what you will, but we’ve got grit.

 
In the true spirit of takeaway #9, you’ll see me in the WLC again in January, 2019.  CFI will not be hosting a formal team, but you can check out the 2019 information here. 
 
Have a healthy holiday season!
-Coach Josh

“Regularly learn and play new sports.”
I believe our entire community knows how importantly nutrition, sleep, and rest could all lead to results.  But Glassman clearly pointed out Sport as another important factor to pursue world-class fitness.  
This is, perhaps, one of the most overlooked areas in our CrossFit game.

Sure, you may have been a triathlete coming into CrossFit, and you continue to do those races.  You may play indoor soccer because that’s what you’ve loved since middle school. Whatever past time you have, keep doing it, but Glassman calls upon us to do more.
Try applying your CrossFit badassery to something brand new.  I know, I know… you don’t “have time.” An adult softball league may not be pursuable at this season of your life.  However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try some other more accessible sports. Here are a few ideas:

• Disc Golf.  Easy going and social.  Ever hear the term “core to extremity” strength?  Try to chuck your driver discs as far as possible by flipping those hips when throwing.  Those Kettlebells Swings will pay off!
• Spikeball.  Keep that summer tan alive with some good tunes.  Your hits may not be pristine if you’re new to the sport, but soon you’ll see how Burpees and sprints pay off in your quickness!
• Rock Climbing.  A casual date night or challenge with friends.  You can rent gear and get a pass for bouldering indoors for about $15.  Multi-colored tape shows you where to go, and your grip strength will be put on blast.
• Cornhole.  Low energy, but the perfect grill-out game.  “Accuracy” is an important element of fitness, and this is a good test.  Ever hear me harp on Wall Balls as a test of accuracy as well as strength?
• Obstacle Course Races (OCRs).  Muddy and downright addicting.  OCRs are both tough and accessible to all athletes.  Tackle a Tough Mudder with some friends to show how CrossFit can prepare you for those unknown and unknowable obstacles.

These are all suggestions to encounter on occasion--not to sign up for lessons to accomplish.  Like Glassman, I’m encouraging you to show some vulnerability and try something you’ve never done before so that you can see just how valuable your new-found fitness truly translates to countless areas of your life.
How I’ve Applied It
    This summer, I participated in my 10th OCR, a Spartan Race just outside of Cincinnati.  With over 20 obstacles and 4 miles of running, these races have so many challenges you don’t find in a clean, organized gym.  Those rope climbs you’ve been practicing at CFI? Yeah, the ropes are bald and difficult to grip in the race. Those bear crawls that show up in the warm ups?  Yeah, they’re here too, but you’re navigating under barbed wire to truly tell you, “Yo, your butt is too high.” The beautifully terrible punishment for failure of an obstacle is, you guessed it, burpees.  30 of them. Per obstacle.
    I fared well, but I did fail two obstacles.  The “Twister” monkey bars were awful. Imagine “oh, $#!&” handles in a car affixed to a rotating pole--now use them as mobile monkey bars.  Yep, failed that. The second was a rock-climbing-like horizontal wall traverse. Feel like your grip is great? Cake a layer of mud on ‘em, then let’s talk.  I paid my 60-burpee penance and knew that grip has to be a focus of my game in the near future. Plus, I had an awesome time with an awesome race partner.
Looking for that next sport to try?  Start with any events that you think would be expensive; look ahead and see if you can get early bird discounts.  If you have several people who’d like to join, then check out Groupon for some deals that may be easy on the wallet.  Afraid no one will join you? Ask a coach to help with socializing the idea! We love encouraging members to try new things together.
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- Coach Josh-

“I’m pretty sure I’ve got the ‘fat kid’ genome in my DNA,” she says as longs for a donut between lifts.  Then, she crushes some heavy snatch drills before returning home to make a clean meal of almond-flour crusted chicken, green beans, and roasted potatoes.  Donut craving resisted.

It’s practically a rite of passage in a CrossFitter’s fitness journey… you realize nutrition is far more impactful on your WODs than how much time you spend on a roller, how much money you spend on protein shakes, or how many classes you attend per week.  It’s a brutal realization because we think we have “earned” our right to eat whatever we want. We can pay for it, so we can eat it, right? I worked out today, so I’m in better nutritional shape than anyone else, right? We’ve got news for you, even the head honchos of CrossFit know what’s up in their pyramid of fitness:















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​The daily decision between convenient, processed foods and wholesome, simpler foods sadly doesn’t ever go away; it’s foundational to our health.  As owner of CrossFit New England (oh, and by the way, coach to CrossFit Games champions Mat Fraser and Katrin Davidsdottir), Ben Bergeron puts it this way--if you ask ANYONE how their normal nutrition is, everyone, to a person, says, “pretty good.”  You may think about your kids, a roommate, or your high-school-age self as the comparison, but no one truly knows that they eat “pretty good” unless they can define how different foods affect their bodies.

Let me say that again, no one truly knows that they eat well unless they can define how different foods affect their bodies.  You need a true comparison.  How does your current body respond to small, measurable changes?  No one can compare for you.

Athletes at CFI occasionally ask for nutritional pointers.  As a coach, it’s so difficult to help an athlete when the athlete does not reflect on what he or she is eating.  “Tell me about your typical day’s food and drink” yields a murky soup of “um” and “mostly good” responses. Why? People don’t enjoy looking in the mirror when it’s donuts versus broccoli.  In fact, try writing all you eat in a journal for one week. It’s hard looking at your true habits when you write down all the crap peddled to you at the supermarket, so best to ignore the question, yeah?

​Anecdotally, I want to share my programmed experience with nutrition these past 50 days.  The Whole30 Challenge is tough, but the benefits are impactful--they bring awareness to me, myself, and I.


Whole30: A Simple Reset
The Whole30 Challenge is a month-long, “hard reset” of your body.  By giving up grains, legumes, dairy, alcohol, and...wait for it...sugars and sweeteners, you are removing cravings and dependencies that are endemic to our American diets.  The Whole30 Challenge has a HUGE following. I mean super huge. Like, brands even print “Whole30 approved” on certain items. Not sure about what you can eat? There are numerous bloggers ready to answer you immediately.

Perhaps the most curious rule of Whole30 is no measuring.  No body weight scales.  No food weight scales. No measurements of your body.  Eat compliant foods, and eat however much you want. See the results in the mirror, but don’t put numbers to them.  Having measured food for macros before, this was a strange change for me.

So why did I do this?  The “hard reset” of your body brings massive benefits not on day 29 or day 30, but the days thereafter.  The program instructs you to reintroduce food types to your diet and observe how they affect you over three days.  Don’t go out on day 31 and consumer alcohol AND dairy AND sugar AND bread at the same time. Reintroduce the one thing you missed most, and pay attention to how it affects you.  

I, for example, LOVE cheese.  But, dairy tore me up in the reintroduction stage even more than sugar.  A scale didn’t have to show me that cheese was a bad choice. My digestive system and energy overtly responded with, “Yeah… stop eating that.”  I now have a very good understanding of my choice to eat dairy from now on. Apply to all foods, and you’ll be well versed about your unique metabolism--converting foods to energy.


Food Freedom
So where did I go from those first 30 days?  The creators of the Whole30 Challenge have an answer for that, too.  Coined “Food Freedom,” the reintroduction days help you decide your new food rules for yourself.  Based on reintroduction, weigh how important it is to you to keep being Whole30 compliant with enjoying non-compliant foods occasionally.  These are guidelines to feel less constricted yet reap the benefits of that hard reset. For example, here are some of my food freedom guidelines:

1. No dairy, except minimal butter for cooking
2. No sugar or sweeteners
3. Little grains
4. If I decide on a “cheat” meal, do not let the decision bleed over into every day
5. Use healthy fats to feel full (bring on the guac!)

Because I saw awesome results from strict Whole30, these adjustments give me more wiggle room while maintaining the Whole30 effects.  

Whole30 Challenge may not be appealing to everyone, but it certainly brings focused awareness to your body’s reaction to different foods.  Whether you choose Whole30 challenge or a simple food journal, how will you answer the question, “Tell me about your daily food and drink choice?”


​Coach Josh Womack

“The Open? I thought that was more for people who have been doing CrossFit for a while…”

That was my response back in 2014 when my coach asked me if I was planning on signing up for the CrossFit Open. I had just started basics 30 days earlier and my abs were finally recovering from my first WOD, Annie (50-40- 30-20- 10 repetitions of double unders and sit-ups). Now, I was being asked to take another leap of faith and sign up for the Open!

“Well, what is it anyway?”

What exactly was I being asked to sign up for? I found out pretty quick that the Open is many things. It’s an opportunity for all CrossFit athletes to sign up and see how they stack up against each other. It’s also the starting
point for the CrossFit Games. The top athletes in each geographical region move on to the Regionals competitions, then the top athletes at Regionals move on to the CrossFit Games. But it all begins with the Open. All athletes, novices and pros alike, start the season with this five-week competition. One WOD is announced each Thursday night and athletes have until the following Monday night to complete the WOD and post their score online.

“But wait, I can’t do double unders!”

So, I signed up for the Open and the first week comes around. We all gather around a computer screen for the ceremonial WOD reveal:

10:00 AMRAP
30 double unders
15 power snatches (75/55)
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The first thing that goes through my mind is that there’s no way I can do this WOD! I haven’t even gotten a single double under! But coach tells me not to worry about it; just try your best. I remember that WOD clearly.  I started with two singles, then gave the rope a double flick and jumped higher. Nothing. I landed on the rope…I told myself to stay calm and tried again. This time I got the double under and was able to start getting into the rhythm of two singles, then a double. My judge started counting down my reps remaining: “5 more double unders!” Before you know it, I had
gotten through three sets of those double unders! The rest of the weeks brought more movements I didn’t think I could do or wasn’t comfortable with: overhead squats, heavy deadlifts, toes to bar, and on and on. Each time, I either surprised myself and was able to do the movement as prescribed, or I scaled the WOD to ensure I could keep the
intensity up and get the same stimulus.

“I can’t wait for next year!”

I’m so glad my coach pushed me to sign up for the Open that first year. By the end of the five weeks, I was already looking forward to the 2015 Open! I had some clear areas that I knew I needed to improve and started to make
some goals for the upcoming year. If you have any doubts about whether the Open is right for you, come talk
to me or any of the coaches. This will be a great time for the CFI community to join together and work through these WODs. Here are a few of the things we’re planning as a gym this year:

1. WOD reveal parties: Thursdays at 8PM (February 22-March 22),
along with weekly head-to- head match ups.
2. CrossFit Open WOD on Fridays, along with extra open gym times to
ensure that everyone has the chance to do the WOD.
3. In-gym competition (similar to the Wednesday Night League, we will
have two teams co-led by a coach and a gym member).
4. And much more!

Also, starting this week, be on the lookout for prior year open WODs in our weekly programming. This will give you an idea of what types of movements and WOD styles to expect. Finally, don’t forget to sign up for the Open by February 22 at games.crossfit.com!

Coach Marcus

Fast Facts

• The combination of a lemon or lime and sea salt + water concoction first thing in the a.m., on an empty stomach, can improve digestion, nutrient absorption, liver detoxification, electrolyte balance, and hormonal function. It also provides a dose of vitamins, fiber, energy and hydration when you’re body needs it most, without causing a spike in blood sugar.
• Mix and drink:
• 1. FRESH juice of 1/2 to 1 whole lemon or lime
  2. 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of colorful sea salt (Pink Himalayan preferred)
  3. 12 – 16 oz **room temperature** filtered/spring water

My Morning Ritual
Nutritional advice can be overwhelming. With a ton of information flying at you from every direction, often contradictory, it’s no wonder it’s generally the last thing my clients really want to address. For that (and other) reasons, I prefer to find simple habits that are easy to implement, have huge value and impact, and overtime can build INTO a larger nutritional picture simply by crowding out the less savory options. Long-term success starts by changing small things first – baby steps. Let’s talk about one.
Here’s an easy ritual that packs a powerful nutritional punch, with many health benefits, which you can very quickly turn into a habit you love. Lemon juice, sea salt, and water. First thing in the morning – before you do or consume anything else.
Whether you consider yourself a morning person or not, we are typically in a state of high(er) self-control after we wake up and before we jump into the fray. This makes the morning a great time to bring some awareness (mindfulness) around our body, what it needs, and to start each day on the right path.
I have been following this simple protocol for years, and it’s become something I look forward to every morning.

Why Lemon Juice and Sea Salt?
Fresh Lemon (and lime) juice is a nutritional powerhouse. Containing more vitamin C than oranges, they also are high potassium and anti-oxidants, both of which are beneficial for overall health and combatting the stress of daily endeavors.
Additionally, lemon and lime juice acids are chemically similar to hydrochloric acid (HCl) which is the primary component of gastric (stomach) acid. This means they can aid digestion, and can even help the stomach produce more HCl. The benefit here is improved nutrient and vitamin absorption, as well as the destruction of food-borne pathogens.
Sea salt, specifically colorful salts like Pink Himalayan (my favorite), provide additional sodium and a dose of minerals that contribute to adrenal health, liver detoxification, hormonal balance, hydration, and more. They can also aid in the production of stomach acids in combination with the lemon/lime juice, further improving digestion, absorption, and protection.

Why First Thing?
Making this drink the first thing you do in the morning does a few things for us:

1. It creates a pattern – or a ritual as I like to think of it – that gets the brain working towards making good choices ALL day.
2. It stokes the digestion process, so our subsequent meals can be of better value. Eating nutrient packed foods overall is the goal, but if your digestion isn’t operating well, you are missing out on the full value of those foods.
3. Drinking this on an empty stomach allows for full absorption. It’s best to wait at least 15 min. before eating or drinking anything else. I tend to drink this before I go to the gym in the morning and eat after my morning workout (more on that in another post).

The Recipe
This is a simple one. Mix the juice of 1/2 to 1 whole lemon or lime with 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of colorful sea salt in a full glass of ROOM TEMP. water. Drink and enjoy. Avoid cold water first thing in the morning as it can shock your system which restricts digestion.
I recommend starting with 1/2 lemon and 1/4 tsp. of sea salt until you get used to the taste. I find it really enjoyable, but your mileage may vary.
Add this simple ritual to your day for the next few months, and see how you feel! Does it help you kick-start your day? Do you enjoy or tolerate the drink or the process? Do you notice any changes in your energy levels throughout the day? I’d love to hear your experiences!
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Onward!

Coach Nick Kirkes

The Most Comfortable Performance Enhancer.
Do you ever receive a piece of advice that sticks with you for all time? Here’s one of mine: “Always invest in a great bed and a great pair of shoes because when you’re not in one, you’re in the other.” Too true. As a CrossFitter, you probably have the shoes covered; you rock the latest pair of Nanos, or you pause class to change into your lifters right before the WOD. But let’s talk about the other investment—your sleep.
Secondary only to nutrition, sleep is a performance enhancer that can bring big rewards.

In his article entitled “Sleeping for Performance,” Martin Rawls-Meehan states that “Exercise, nutrition and sleep make a virtuous circle comprising the three essential elements of fitness” http://library.crossfit.com/free/pdf/CFJ_Sleep_RawlsMeehan2.pdf. Rawls-Meehan points to research evidence suggesting that subjects who sleep ten hours 1) have improvements in sleep, strength, agility, and reaction time and 2) retain muscle memory for movements at a higher rate. It benefits both brawn and brain.
Among performance benefits, why not also enjoy your bed longer? Heck, that’s enough to get me to improve my sleeping habits. So how do we achieve this? I’ll address this two ways: practice and products.

Let’s first look at practice. Practical advice about sleep comes in many forms. Recalling from both Rawls-Meehan’s article and personal experience, here are my top pieces of advice for improving your sleep practices:

• Block out 9 hours’ worth of sleep per day. This doesn’t mean you sink into slumber that long. Rather, remove all screens and lights from your bedroom for nine hours to shut down the system.
• Avoid “big” your final two hours awake. Big meals and big workouts should be a no-go. Plan to attack your WODs and food further out from your sleep.
• Charge your phone on the other side of the room. To prevent the distraction of checking your emails and Twitter feed, charge your phone over on your dresser instead. Plus, this will help you wake up to your FIRST alarm. It forces you to get out of the bed to silence it!

These are all small tweaks you can make to setting yourself up for a good sleep. Next, let’s look at products. I’m all about putting good money into my sleep setup. Here are my favorite items:

• A good humidifier. I’m from the South, so the Midwest racks me with bloody noses in the winter. A good humidifier helps the tiny hairs in your nostrils free up good breathing patterns.
• The Chilipad. (https://www.chilitechnology.com/collections/all?rfsn=491580.3acc5) Can you say GAME CHANGER?! Although expensive ($650-$1,000), this product is the number one product recommendation for sleep from Kelley Starrett (author of Becoming a Supple Leopard). This sheet under your fitted sheet controls the temperature from as low as 55 degrees up to 110 degrees. Much more than a heated blanket, it cools you off while sleeping in the summer, too! Despite the price, it’s a product I use every night.
• Magnesium supplements. Taking magnesium supplements helps with bone recovery and energy production. More importantly, it helps relieve stress hormones and insomnia. I pair magnesium with vitamin C right before bed.
• GravityBlanket.  gravityblankets.com/pages/gshopgclid=Cj0KCQiAus_QBRDgARIsAIRGNGgwIDp_OnsZwfn6DxA0SoedG3cEKqHVzSX1klwSsXOdL_edaBYW4wEaAqMtEALw_wcB). I haven’t tried this yet, personally, but you’d better believe it’s at the top of my Christmas List. If you’re like me, you like feeling the weight of ten blankets on you, but you don’t want to be overheated. Backed by science to help relieve stress, this could be a revolutionary product.

Aside from your typical thread-count, pillow-topper bed upgrades, these suggestions will help you increase the quality of your sleep. Worried about price? Remember, you sleep every day; what better product investment can you make?

Never discount what sleep does for your performance in the gym, at work, and at home. Nutrition helps you with energy production, but sleep regenerates the production cycle. If you’re looking for a good New Year’s Resolution or simply a better habit in life, consider what small changes you can make to impact 7-9 hours of your every day. Adding magnesium to your micronutrient supplements is a ten-second act that improves
your 7-9 hours of sleep; moving your phone charger across this room is temporary annoyance that yields successful sleeping and waking patterns. Follow the challenge to see how your sleep can affect your performance!

Challenge: For 21 days, record a scale of 1-10 about your energy level. 1 is “exhausted,” and ten is “energized.” Record this scale in your journal for three periods:
1) during your workout, 2) during your workday, and 3) during your time at home.
Days 1-7, don’t change anything about your current sleep patterns. Days 8-14, add a practice or products change above, but only one! Days 15-21, add a second practice or products change above. On day 22, do a final journal entry about what you observed from the challenge! Post your journal comments here for others to see.

“Sleeping for Performance.” Martin Rawls-Meehan. The CrossFit Journal. Link:
http://library.crossfit.com/free/pdf/CFJ_Sleep_RawlsMeehan2.pdf

Coach Josh Womack