Happy Birthday To You Luan!
Thank You For Investing Your Life In The Tribe!

Rush University Medical Center in Chicago …  Oxford University … Santa Clara University … University of Manchester … Troy University … and many other top medical institutions reveal amazing reasons why working out en masse help you:

• Boost mood-elevating endorphins, serotonin and dopamine …
• Enhance your mental and physical intensity …
• Achieve a higher level of endorphin levels compared to solo exercisers …
• Sharpen your motor function – leaned movements that allow you to run, jump, catch and have a high quality of life, and …
• Create a social contact rarely found among exercisers!

In your heart, you have your own personal reason(s) for joining the Tribe.

It’s different for almost everyone.

Whatever your personal reason – corporately speaking – we all seek an effective way to reverse the affects of aging … to look better in the mirror … to feel better on a daily basis … to have a competitive outlet … and block future health crisis.

In the April 2010 issue of Psychology Today, author Molly St. Lifter wrote an article entitled, Strength in Numbers.

I’ve copied and pasted her article here for our Tribe members, but you can read it here as well.

[MIND YOUR BODY]

Working out in the company of other people confers a variety of benefits. Here are just a few.

Make love, not war.

Couples who exercise in tandem resolve conflicts faster and communicate better. “The boosts in mood-elevating endorphins, serotonin and dopamine spark creativity, which is associated with problem solving,” says Linda Vanderbleek, a researcher at Troy University.

Copycat

We adapt to the workout ethic of those around us. If someone next to you on the treadmill is running hard, he’ll inspire you to take it up a notch. But if he’s dogging it, that may slow you down. The reason? Social comparison. “It’s human nature to make judgments about ourselves based on the dress, skill sets, and performance of those around us,” says Thomas Plante, a psychology professor at Santa Clara University. “This takes place even among strangers.”

A heightened state of bliss

Working out with others delivers extra euphoria. When a team from Oxford University carried out tests on 12 rowers after a vigorous workout in a virtual boat, the group had increased endorphin levels compared to solo exercisers. The surge may be due to the synchronization of physical activity. The coordinated effort can also create more intimacy between couples. “When people are in sync bodily, they feel a deeper connection,” says Helen Fisher, a biological anthropologist.

Jumping for joy

Exercising with pals affects your motor function—learned movements that allow you to run, catch, and jump. In fact, the more you’re engaged with others, the slower your motor skills decline as you age. “Neurons are activated by the seemingly unrelated acts ofsocial interaction and movement,” says Aron Buchman, a neurosurgeon at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

Dish network

The desire for social contact motivates people to hit the gym even when they feel too tired to work out, according to a study at a fitness club in England.”They might have been following an exercise buddy’s romantic or work saga,” says Nick Crossley, the sociologist at the University of Manchester who conducted the study. “It’s like following stories in a book or soap opera.”

Going It Alone

When to exercise solo

• To relax. Exercising with friends is more emotionally draining, especially for introverts, finds Thomas Plante, a psychologist at Santa Clara University. Sweating companionless is calming because you don’t have to navigate conversations and weigh others’ feelings.
• To be on. A solitary cardio stint can improve memory, mental clarity, focus, and alertness, says Plante—useful on those days when you have a job interview or an elaborately prepared apology to make to your best friend.
• To avoid feeling self-conscious. If fear of being judged too fat, too slow, or too sweaty is keeping you from the gym, sidestep your worries and go solo.

## END ##

Yes, you are reading correctly.  I said it…chocolate chip cookies!  I know Dakota is praising me as he reads this and several of you are probably saying hallelujah!  Remember, eat these in MODERATION and pass them to your friends so you don’t eat the whole batch in one day.  I always send a few to Shyla, Tra and Luan when I make them:)

Yes, you guessed it…Elana’s Pantry recipe!

Gluten Free and Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookiesprint friendly recipe
2 ½ cups blanched almond flour *
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup grapeseed oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
½ cup agave nectar
1 cup dark chocolate chips 73% cacao

1. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl
2. Stir together wet ingredients in a smaller bowl
3. Mix wet ingredients into dry
4. Form ½ inch balls and press onto a parchment lined baking sheet
5. Bake at 350° for 7-10 minutes
6. Cool and serve

Makes 24 cookies

**Bob’s Red Mill almond flour doesn’t yield the same results.  Click on the link in the recipe for the almond flour Elana recommends.

Has everyone been holding up and eating clean on your first weekend of the Challenge???  And just 33 more days till the big cheat meal/day!!!

This is a quick reminder to keep bringing in your journals each time you attend a WOD!  We will not be checking them everyday, but we will randomly ask for your journals during the 40 days.   I asked for them in a few of the classes, on Friday, and a lot of you didn’t bring them!  Thank you to those who’s journal we checked, keep up the good work and logging. We don’t want extra burpees, so here is a fair warning, keep up with your journals!  Lets get on it Tribe!

Quick review-  You get 40 points for your Journal tracking at the end of the Challenge!  There are only two ways you can lose points on this:
1.  You don’t write down what you are eating everyday (including the weekends, and yes- even non Paleo foods!)  If we come across a day missed, then a Coach or Tribe member will cross that day out.  This way, at the end of the 40 days, we will be able to get a quick count and you won’t be able to go back and fill in the blanks at the end of the Challenge!
2.  If you don’t have your journal with you when we ask for them during your class. FYI – I am keeping a tracker to ensure everyone is keeping up.

I know all of you will score an easy 40 points!  I believe in all of you.  Bottom line, this Challenge is for you and what you desire to achieve from it.  You paid extra to do this, so make it worth your time!  It is such an honor to work with you.  And it is the best to see your changes and your hard earned results!

The ITF staff is here to help you!  Please call or email us if you have any questions.  Week one is done, just a few more to go and they are well worth it!!!

“Life is not merely being alive, but being well.” ~Martial

http://www.trakshak.com/tyfoon/site/fckeditor/file/Race%20to%20the%20Courthouse.pdf

During yesterday’s Power Clean Ladder WOD, I happened to look up just long enough to see another athlete reaching up to rub his neck/shoulder.

For those of you who didn’t do yesterday’s WOD, a power clean requires a powerful shrug of the shoulders up toward the ears as Shyla is demonstrating in the picture to the left.

You can see Luan’s excellent tutorial on power cleans here, or by clicking on Shyla’s picture.

For those of you who did do yesterday’s WOD, you may be experiencing a little pain in your neck as well today.

Here in the south, when someone has a muscle spasm in their neck they’ll often times refer to it as a “creak”  or “crick” in your neck.

Where did these expressions come from?

A quick google search gave me as good an answer as any, and you can read all about it in the side bar to the right.

More importantly than where the terms come from is how to handle the spasm now that you may be experiencing it.

Before I tell you how to treat the spasm, I need to take a few moments and talk to you about the muscle involved.

It’s called the Levator Scapula muscle.

Think of Levator as elevator, and you get the picture instantly of something raising upward.

Think of Scapula (sometimes spelled Scapulae) and you think of the bone on the backside of your rib cage.

The Levator Scapula raises the shoulder blade.

It also turns your head to the same side. In other words, your right Levator Scapula turns your head to the right.

And finally, it helps to side bend your head to the same side. Right Levator Scapula bends your neck/head to the right.

So, it elevates, rotates and side bends your head.

Now … pay attention because this is where many of you will develop a creek/crick in your neck during your WODs.

Under load, i.e. you are doing a power clean, if you powerfully shrug your shoulders with a slightly turned head — or you shrug your shoulders with a slightly bent head — then you are subjecting yourself to a potential muscle spasm problem.

Under load, you must keep a neutral spine.

Doesn’t matter if you are doing a dead lift, squat, power clean, snatch, or any other lift … you must keep a neutral spine.

Do NOT make your bodies machanices “non-physiological.”

Meaning … DO NOT break the proper mechanics of your body under load.

Ever.

Are we clear?

Good.

Now, if you are experiencing pain in your neck, we MUST make sure that you can distinguish between muscular pain and disk pain.

See the image to the right?

Notice the red pain pattern down the spinal column.

If you feel that kind of pain, then your pain is beyond the scope of this article.

If you feel like your pain is a “nerve” type of pain … your pain is beyond the scope of this article.

If you are having headaches, blurry vision, or any other kind of pain that does not feel muscular … then your pain is beyond the scope of this article.

YOU MUST SEEK PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL CARE.

… So, again … are we clear?

Good.

Assuming you feel confident that the pain or stiffness is related to your Levator Scapula muscle, then here are a few things you can try to help your situation:

1. Usually, if you have a Levator Scapula pain, it will be painful to turn to the same side as the spasm. In other words, if your pain is on the right, it will be difficult to turn to the right. Your solution? Stretch away from the right side. Turn your head to the left and gently tuck your chin toward your chest. Take it easy.
2. Gently side bend your head away from the affected side. If the pain is on your right, side bend  your head to the left.
3. Call me or Luan at 874.6300.

Are you having pain in your neck?

Write your symptoms in the comments below and I’ll have Dr. Matt Smith read them and offer his professional opinion.

I the meantime, remember: Always keep a neutral spine under load.

Hope this helps.

Due to unforseen travel schedules, I bounce around from class to class to get in my workouts each week.  I appreciate those of you who have posted your picture so that I can remember your name and say hello next time we have a class together.  I will attempt to post my picture tonight to solicit others to do the same.