Be Encouraged
Ok, I just wanted to write a quick blog to some of the newer people. Martin and I have been able to con several people in to joining ITF, which is great, but they are all yelling at me about how sore they are. I’m getting lots of
“GATES!!!!! YOU DIDN’T TELL ME HOW HARD THIS WAS GOING TO BE!!!”
-Ummm, hello?!?! You don’t tell a kid how badly a tetanus shot hurts before they go, do you? No.
So, OK…..Perhaps saying “Oh it’s not that bad, the first day of 101 is all just instruction. Nothing to worry about,” was a bit of a teeensy weensy little lie.
And, perchance, saying “Oh I loved 101 from the second I walked in!” wasn’t quite correct.
And, maybe I pushed the envelope of truth a touch when I said “They’re totally laid back at ITF. Easy breezy little place. You’ll love it” was only partly true….
But people! I did it out of love. Ok, so it’s not child’s play. Truth is that I really hated 101 and wasn’t a big fan of my coach, which was Luan, by the way. Luan can appear out of no-where. I’m not kidding. And he DID NOT CARE that I was so sore that I was sleeping on ice packs – that’s true-. I had mentally created about four different ways of hurting him, and had to pray for forgiveness for all of the times that I thought “You know, I could smack him with this kettlebell, and no one would ever think I did it on purpose. They all know how uncoordinated I am. He would be out at least until 101 was over…hmmmmm….”
But, I digress. I have to say Iron Tribe is a shock to the system, but stay encouraged! It gets better! Ok, so no, the soreness never truly goes away, but your recovery time will get faster, and although there will be days that you will drive home with your knees and nose, and will have to ask someone to blow-dry your hair for you, it will get better!
And meanwhile, you will slowly but surely discover that you like this place. You will will later look back on 101 with fondness. You will grow to appreciate that your 101 coach ADDED WEIGHTS WITHOUT TELLING YOU WHILE YOU GOT WATER FROM THE WATER FOUNTAIN!!! You really will…
So, stay encouraged! For whatever reason,I promise, you will love it, if you don’t already. You will, at some point, see the genius that is the 101 program. You will find yourself wondering how any other CrossFit gym goes without it. You will begin to see the changes in your body and attitude that you were positive you would never see with yourself.
Hang with it friends! Oh, and forgive me for not telling you the whole complete truth about my experience with 101. Although one thing that I said was true, and that ‘s this….I am sooooooo glad I did 101 and saw it through to the end. I’m shocked that I stayed with it, but I am so glad I did. It got better and better, and now I actually love it!
(Oh, and it turns out, that Luan is actually a good person and we are now friends. It’s shocking!)
Eyes on the prize, friends! You got this!
Love and blessings (and hopefully a little grace and forgiveness??)
Gates
OH! And P.S.- Jessica and Robert loop-holes…. Jessica will always change the music when bad songs come on (good time to rest for a second), and if Robert thinks he’s hurt your feelings, he turns to mush (again, good time to rest for a second). You’re welcome, those are on the house. 
NFL Total 1/21/12
Homewood had a GREAT NFL Total on Saturday! We had a sold out crowd ready to tackle 1RM in: Power Clean, Bench Press, Deadlift, and Squat. There were many PRs set and left everyone hungry for more when they retest in a few weeks. Great job everyone!!
Power Clean- Bench- Deadlift- Squat
Clint S-235- 315- 450- 425
Mallory- 95- 65- 160- 135
Lindsay- 115- 105- 250.5- 215
Dianna- — 65- 145- 135
Forrest- 245- 265- 415- 385
Kelly B- 125- 120- 245- 165
Christie- 125- 85- 190- 165
Mara- 125- 155- 265.5- 225
Bryan B- 255- 300- 425- 365
Rachel- 105- 75- 185- 135
Alex- 225- 275- 405- 320
Joe M- 155- 155- 335- 265
Greg- 186- 185- 345- 260
Matt B- 165- 166- 355- 215
Andy- 205- 205- 385- 315
Amy H- 100- 95- 200- 190
Allen H- 205- 245- 365- 225
Allen K- 176- 185- 336- 205
AB- 205- 225- 385- 315
James- 195- 225- 335- 225
I hope Katherine won’t mind… but…
It is a rare thing to enter a room at 9:00 am and leave at 5:00 having undergone and complete paradigm shift in way you think about food. I commented awhile ago that I’d read Robb Wolfe, Loren Cordain, Mark Sisson and lots of others about the Paleo diet and wasn’t sure I could learn all that much new through a day of discussion about diet and nutrition…well, I’m I am so glad I changed my mind and signed up. No book can compare to what I took away from Melissa and Dallas’s Whole9 workshop. I no longer think of this as diet, but as foods for my long-term health vs. choices that are actually detrimental to my well being. I learned that some of our bad choices linger with us for weeks and longer. That my slice of pizza on a Saturday after a week of diet perfection cancels out the gains I just made and is not unlike putting salt in a healing wound.
We’ve all been literally spoonfed a way of eating our entire lives. We were born into it. Well, the proof is in the pudding and they had the goods to back up with they were saying. The links to our traditional diets and chronic disease and poor health were staggering. Without going into the details (which are so worth hearing straight from the mouths of Melissa and Dallas!), it’s truly time for a philosophical change in our approach to food. They took us on journey of how food–Protein, Carbs, and Fat–travels through our bodies. How carbs in the form of grains/seeds and the protein in dairy wreak havoc, showed us the damage these foods do in our gut, and explained the constant levels of inflammation these food choices produce that inhibit optimal health. It is why that cold lingers, that injury doesn’t heal quickly, insomnia or stress dominate your life. Bling (light bulb)! Systemic inflammation is state most of us have been walking around in to some degree our entire lives.
There was good news! We were offered solutions through “good, better and best” food choices for our diets along with the studies and science to back up the benefits. We learned what to eat, when to eat it (even the timing of snacks and pre- and post-workot meals). I left empowered and a bit off kilter. I’m a classically trained chef and food editor whose vocation centers on food and recipes. This has been an “ah-ha” moment of the most monolithic kind and has reframed my personal approach to food and eating in a way that I’m confident will stick. It’ll be difficult to work on books and recipes about conventional ways of eating when my eyes have been opened in such a powerful way.
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Want in? sign up here!
CHOCOLATE
So we’re three days into the Transformation Challenge and I’m already hearing it.
I want CHOCOLATE.
Why does it have to be so delicious?!
Well I have a solution for you, that is delicious and yes, it is PALEO! Yay!!!!!!
Homemade Mounds Bar “Larabars.”
They are super easy to make but you need to have a food processor.
Here’s the recipe.
Ingredients:
1 1/3 cup of pitted dates (roughly chopped)
1 cup of pecans
1 tbsp coconut oil
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut
dash vanilla (optional)
1. Finely chop pecans in a food processor. Don’t turn them into a powder, but they should be the size of nuts you would get on top of your ice cream….ooh…ice cream sounds good…I digress. Remove pecans to a large mixing bowl.
2. Add dates, coconut oil, cocoa powder and shredded coconut together in the same food processor (no need to clean it out from the pecan dust.) Process until mixture forms a large ball. This may take a couple of minutes and I would suggest letting your processor go for about 20 seconds at a time and then giving it a 10 second rest (just like Tabata intervals 
) otherwise your processor might start to smell funny. Once you have your date ball, add it to the pecans.
3. Use your hands to combine date ball and chopped pecans as best you can. Takes a little elbow grease but you want to make sure they are thoroughly mixed. Plus this is an awesome way to use all those arm muscles you’ve recently acquired here at ITF.
4. After your mixture is well combined it is up to you how you want to partition your Mounds Bar “Larabars.” You can break off small chunks and roll them into separate balls or you can flatten out your ball to about an inch thick and use a small cookie cutter to make shapes. If you go the cookie cutter route I would highly suggest spray the cutter with cooking spray before you use it because this stuff is pretty sticky.
5. Lastly, take your little chocolate treasures and roll them in some more shredded coconut.
These are really good and are great at staving your craving for chocolate.
Disclaimer: Do not eat this entire mixture in one day.
Just because it’s Paleo doesn’t mean you should eat it all at once.
But if you’re having some chocolately temptations, this is a great solution for satisfying that sinful sweet tooth!
Hope you enjoy!
~Damaris
(In Forrest’s defense we had just won a National Championship, so there was cause to celebrate.)
Top 10 ways a recovering sugar addict does PALEO with success
So…when I joined ITF I was not sold on the paleo diet at first and thought “well I work out so hard…I deserve to eat how I want!” I have never been a fast food person…so fried food was never a problem…but SWEETS and JUNK were a serious problem. In high school I used to drink a mnt dew on the way to school, eat candy and call that breakfast! WOW…don’t hold that against me 
After graduating from 101 and seeing how much I truly LOVE CROSSFIT I decided it was time to get serious if I was going to be doing this. For someone who was a regular soda drinker, potato inhaler, bread muncher this was going to be a change. At first I had trouble just figuring out what was “in” and what was “out” and knew I had to get organized with my food planning and find the best way to get PALEO.
Top 10 ways a recovering sugar addict does PALEO with success:
10-Know what Paleo is! If your only PALEO KNOWLEDGE is from a few lectures from 101- get to reading! Google, research, start reading paleo literature to familiarize yourself with the do’s and do not’s for it all. If you don’t know what you’re doing… how do you set a plan or even know if you are succeeding?
9-LISTS. Make your “stay away from” or “foods allowed” lists. At the beginning of my paleo journey I would make unwise choices because I was all confused! My lists really helped make it black and white until you really understand the entire way of life.
8-Clean out the pantry. You know if its there…you can’t resist in a weak moment. In fact…I have almost NOTHING in my pantry. Pantry=preservatives. Goodbye rice, cereal and granola bars.
7-Plan. For someone like myself, if I don’t have a plan I get myself in trouble quick. Busy schedules, exhausting days, and not planning= a drive thru window with some ice cream for dessert.
6-Grocery shop. Make list of meals for the week and tackle it all! I go on Sunday and get my food for the entire week- that way I’m never caught with “nothing in the house….must get take out” excuse.
5-Prepare in advance. After I’ve planned out my meals and shopped– time to prepare. Sunday is a great day for this as well. I grill chicken for the entire weeks lunch salads, boil eggs to hold me over till mid week, prep meat, whatever needs to be done to help keep me from having tons of food in my house and not enough time during my busy day to prepare.
4-Extra on Hand. I always have turkey and boiled eggs in the fridge, a primal pack in the car, a zip lock of almonds in my purse. You are stuck between meals and you’re starving…that’s where it gets me! Go ahead and plan ahead and ALWAYS have this stuff around….when you eat the primal from the car replace with another for when hunger strikes again.
3-Accountability. Find a friend to help you stay on the straight and narrow. Tell them your goals with your nutrition and agree to check on each other.
2-Don’t over do fruit/nuts. If your goal is to lose weight in this challenge don’t replace entire meals with FRUIT. Fruit is natures dessert and should be treated as so. If you’re leaving the chips/fries add in a salad or mixed veggies. UP your GREEN! Also- Dried fruit/nut mixes (for the person who just can’t stop…myself) need to be put into baggies for snacks. Don’t snack right from the container or you’ll find that you just ate 2,000 calories in nuts while watching tv….yes…I did that.
1-Don’t beat yourself up. Life happens, we aren’t perfect and you can ALWAYS jump back onto the wagon when you fall off. If you are making a HUGE change expect some hard days. Big picture people! If you’re starting out try doing 1 out of 3 meals clean, then more and more till you are where you want to be.
Jessica
“Sacrifice”
So it’s week one of the Transformation Challenge at Iron Tribe! It is so inspiring to see everyone working hard in their WODs and also to hear about the positive changes people are making to their nutrition. Yes, all of this really pumps me up, and when I think about the life changing benefits that you guys are going to receive for your efforts I get even more excited!
Sometimes in the beginning of a new habit or routine it is difficult and you feel like you are having to sacrifice a lot. Just remember though that SACRIFICE IS SIMPLY GIVING UP SOMETHING FOR SOMETHING BETTER! When you begin to think about it that way then it becomes less about what you are “giving up” and more about what you are going to get in return.
In the over 10 years that I’ve been working in the fitness industry I have never met a single person who truly poured themselves into pushing themselves physically and to making positive changes to their nutrition and lifestyle that was not ecstatic about the far reaching benefits that they achieved. The changes to your appearance and health are the things that you expect. But what people are often pleasantly surprised by are some of the other benefits that they did not expect. The mental strength that they build, the confidence they develop that pours over into their personal and professional lives, and the burning passion for life are some of the amazing and often unexpected benefits.
So stay consistent with your WOD’s, truly strive to live a paleo lifestyle, and enjoy the far reaching benefits of your hard work! We are all truly blessed to have such an awesome and supportive community at Iron Tribe to nurture these things. It is really an ideal setting to achieve amazing things! So remember, the “sacrifices” you are making now are really just investments you are making for an awesome future!
INOV-8 Special UPDATE
I wanted to update the list of sizes remaining for the Transformation Challenge ITF athlete price below. You need to ACT NOW because I am only extending this offer until JANUARY 28th while supplies last.
Here are the exact models, sizes (they are listed in unisex sizing), quantity I have in stock right now (Tuesday 1/17). Advice on sizing…typically, a half size up from your “standing” foot measurement. Also, make sure you tell us you are an ITF athlete.
INOV-8 F-lite 195 in black/white: ITF PRICE = $66 (normally $115)
M 5.5 / W 7 (grey/black)
M 6 / W 7.5
M 6 / W 7.5
M 7.5 / W 9
M 7.5 / W 9
M 7.5 / W 9
M 8.5 / W 10
M 8.5 / W 10
M 8.5 / W 10
M 8.5 / W 10
M 9.5 / W 11 (red/white)
M 13 / W 14.5
INOV-8 F-lite 220 in black/white: ITF PRICE = $55 (normally $110)
M 5 / W 6.5
M 5.5 / W 7
M 8 / W 9.5
M 8 / W 9.5
M 8.5 / W 10
M 8.5 / W 10
M 9 / W 10.5
M 11.5 / W 13
Barnyard Throwdown
If you love ITF then you have some sort of competitive spirit inside of you. I am just slightly competitive and have just fallen in love with crossfit mainly for the competition factor and the community. Well Jordan, Zechariah and myself got our dose of competition and community this past weekend at THE BARNYARD THROWDOWN. We left EVERYTHING we had in the BARN, met the absolute best people, and had a blast. If you haven’t competed outside of the Tribe I HIGHLY recommend it! It will push you further than you ever thought possible.
I loved this competition- it was non traditional…in a barn with horses looking in wondering why we were in their stalls throwing weights around in 30 degree weather. The event was held at a barn in Ohatchee, AL on a beautiful farm. It was a one day TEAM competition with teams consisting of 3 teammates (had to include one girl). There were 23 RX teams and 11 Scaled teams from all over Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee.
WOD #1 : 12 Rope Climbs then complete a RIDGE RUN with a LOG (about 1.5 miles). This was a great way to start the day! We ran out of the barn and up a hill, along the ridge, back down, then back into the barn to ring the “DINNER TRIANGLE” to stop the clock. We started the day out great with 1ST Place finish!!
WOD #2: Move a 15 log pile up a hill. Move the 15 log pile down the hill. 100 burpees. We were in the last heat because of our #1 seat and knew the time we had to beat. 3.2.1.…GO! We had made a game plan, changed it twice after watching teams struggle with the log carry up the hill, and finally decided to carry as many as possible at once (safely) to cut down on the # of trips. It worked…and we smoked everyone!!
WOD#3: Tug Of War. We all thought this was going to be a “break” in the day to just have some fun…well…we were very very WRONG! Tug of War with crossfitters is INSTENSE! Best 2 out of 3, single elimination. We fell down, we got up, we fought with every single muscle in our bodies. We left the sand pit with bruises, blood, calf cramps and smiles:) We ended up having an EPIC battle with a team that just wore us out right before finals- so we got 2nd. But we are more than okay with the 2nd!! HA! Pictures tell the story better….
WOD#4: (in a horse stall) 3k Row, 150 Deadlifts #135, 150 kb swings #53. What a great way to end the day. Jordan killed the rows, Zechariah the Dls and I some how swung that 53# kb? The fight was over when we flew open that stall door, scaled the fence and ran through the sand- TIME! Another W for ITF sealed the deal…ITF wins it!
Doesn’t that sound AWESOME?! Doesn’t it make you want to join in on the fun?? Well there are competitions out there all the time. NFL Total @ ITF, Garage Games events, Crossfit Games Open. Don’t be afraid you won’t be “good enough” or maybe you think you “aren’t ready”. At most events they will have scaled division- they did at Barnyard and I KNOW anyone from ITF could have competed! So…what are you waiting for??
Here is a link to an event a couple Tribers are signed up for- SIGN UP! Let me know if you do and we can arrange travel and plan a FUN weekend!
http://www.thegaragegames.com/events/crossroads-competition-mississippi-crossfit/
Another great resource for events:
www.garagegames.com
I’ll leave you with a little tug of war…
-Jessica
