Tuesday 100803
Athlete Profile: Mark C.
Hometown
New Castle, PA
PCF: When did you start with PCF?
November 2008
PCF: Favorite WOD
Tabata WODs
PCF: Least Favorite WOD
Anything with Burpees
PCF: What is your prior fitness background? What was your exposure to CF before coming to PCF?
I had been living in Ann Arbor Michigan doing the standard machine thing (stairsteppers, etc.) at the University of Michigan gyms until around 2004. All of that had me in average shape, and not really all that strong. The boredom finally got to me and I basically quit doing anything athletic for 3 years. Gained 30 lbs., cholesterol went up, all of that stuff. In March 2007, a couple of friends talked me into trying a boot camp/basic training at HyperfitUSA, the crossfit affiliate in Ann Arbor. One of their main points was that 60% of crossfitters are women (still waiting for my first cross-fit date 
). I started with basic training, transitioned to boot camp and then to CF and haven’t looked back. It’s one of the best things that I’ve ever done.
PCF: Talk to us about your thoughts after completing your first WOD.
It was a bootcamp type WOD and I remember after the warmup (20/30/20 Squats/SPT/OHS with PVC) that my legs were so wobbly I couldn’t walk up a flight of stairs. After I felt beaten up, but also really satisfied to have done something that intensive.
PCF: Tell us a little about then vs. now with regard to your performances on a couple of the benchmark WODs. Favorite WOD?
While I’ve improved significantly in both endurance, strength and flexibility, my biggest improvements are on the strength side. When I started I could barely do anything with just the bar, now can do most of the WODs at a respectable weight, Rx’d in many cases.
PCF: Favorite CF/PCF moments you’d like to share?
Running in the snow for the Lumberjack WOD, with the shirtless squad (didn’t have the courage to take mine off), happy hours (still waiting for that neutron dance), hanging out after WODs with everyone.
PCF: Any advice for our newbies?
Stick with it, and don’t be intimidated if you’re starting out, out of shape. That’s what scaling is for, and you’ll be amazed at how fast your body will adjust and you’ll progress.
PCF: And finally (and most importantly) Who is the best looking and most fabulous PCF coach around?
All of the girls (ok, so I’m taking the diplomatic way out here), after that I don’t believe that I’m qualified to judge the guys … sounds like maybe a best looking coach contest at the next happy hour is in order (for the record, If I’m a judge, I can be bought with drinks).
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“The Discovery of Pose Running: Part 3” with Dr. Nicolas Romanov, CrossFit Journal preview video [wmv] [mov]
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PCF Two Year Anniversary goes this Saturday at 2pm. We are going to hold a fun team relay race and can only accommodate 12 people: there will be drinking, there will be CrossFit. If you want to sign up for the race, email Jenn@potomaccrossfit.com. If you’re going to attend, please remember to RSVP!
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“PCF’s Michael”
3 Rounds for time
Run 800m
50 Straight Leg Deadlift, 95/65 lbs
50 Situps
Post time to comments.
Compare to 091015.
Leave a Reply
Photos
August 2nd, 2010 on 8:58 pm
HOOOOOOOOORAY! BEST WOD EVER! (although have not done it with straight leg dead lifts … I dont think I have done it more than once with the same sub for back extensions)
August 2nd, 2010 on 10:19 pm
Nice job Mark. Great having you around the box!
August 2nd, 2010 on 10:36 pm
You know, I was just telling Tes tonight how much I hate WODs with deadlifts and running…
August 2nd, 2010 on 10:37 pm
Awesome profile Mark!
August 2nd, 2010 on 11:02 pm
http://vimeo.com/13842282
This is the example of poor ROM on a KB swing. KB never moves above the forehead, yet this athlete proudly marks Rx by his name after the WOD. Shame on you Guch, if you can’t swing it, go for a lower weight. We don’t care if you have a 6 pack or 16 pack, or if you shave your nipples, or if you take of your shirt off during each WOD. Maybe you should sign up for the Salsa classes across the street, to strengthen your core! Like anything else in life, it’s the quality not the quantity!!!
And this is how a KB Swing is done, with the ear clearly visible at the end of each rep:
http://vimeo.com/13842264
August 2nd, 2010 on 11:10 pm
Nice Mark. And great improvements on the Paleo bandwagon too.
August 2nd, 2010 on 11:42 pm
Great work Mark, Keep it up!
August 3rd, 2010 on 6:51 am
26:37 Rx
For me, deadlift at 95# was doable but draining – slowed 2nd and 3rd runs. A good metcon…lots of sweat!
August 3rd, 2010 on 6:51 am
Going to wholeheartedly agree with Mark’s comments on scaling.
22:45 at 65# – scaled to 30 DL and 30 situps.
August 3rd, 2010 on 8:11 am
WOD updates for “Helen” and “Michael” at:
twitter.com/potomaccrossfit
August 3rd, 2010 on 8:41 am
Nice work, Mark!!! Well said.
August 3rd, 2010 on 9:28 am
“Fructose helps pancreatic cancer cells to multiply”
Article from today’s Post. Linked in my name.
August 3rd, 2010 on 9:36 am
Good stuff Mark.
August 3rd, 2010 on 9:48 am
Great job Mark! So good to see you progress. Always fun to WOD with ya!
August 3rd, 2010 on 10:03 am
Nice post Mark!
August 3rd, 2010 on 10:08 am
Looks like great progress Mark….Keep it Strong !
August 3rd, 2010 on 10:09 am
21:58 Rxd
August 3rd, 2010 on 10:19 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzfcM8kSyo4
Secret Muscles…
August 3rd, 2010 on 10:22 am
Jeremy,
Good link, though I wish they could get into a little more depth on a very complex subject. As it was put to me this weekend, fructose is a poison. Don’t freak out; so are a lot of other things we eat, and when consumed in the trace amounts in which it is naturally found, you’re fine.
Natural trace amounts = berries, temperate fruits, eaten whole.
Unnatural amounts = High Fructose Corn Syrup, agave nectar, table sugar, fruit juice, and large amounts of tropical fruit on a consistant basis.
August 3rd, 2010 on 10:26 am
Jkett,
If we taught shocky how to do a real clean maybe he wouldn’t have spent half his career on the injured list. That will give you secret muscles!
August 3rd, 2010 on 10:27 am
scaled the DLs to 30/round. 29:06.
the runs were a struggle today – not sure why. thanks for all the encouragement 0630.
August 3rd, 2010 on 11:09 am
Anyone that wants the full text pdf of the fructose cancer article just let me know.
August 3rd, 2010 on 11:29 am
26:06 rx’d
“Michael,” you sly devil. So easy on the eyes at first glance. I won’t be doing you again for a long while.
August 3rd, 2010 on 11:52 am
Aaron,
You’re right, he clearly needs proper instruction. I just liked the Kenny Powers add. There’s more on the youtube site.
August 3rd, 2010 on 11:59 am
I woke up this morning in Dubois, WY to an e-mail saying to check yesterdays posts…to my amazement, someone posted an obviously altered photo of the wolfman…
Payback is a mf…
August 3rd, 2010 on 12:03 pm
Rupert, if you mean the full text of the Cancer Research article, yes, definitely!
The only thing I’ve been able to find is the abstract, and I’m not really willing to pay $35 to read a few page article.[1]
From what I was able to find, though: it looks like this study only demonstrates that fructose helps _already existing_ cancer cells grow and proliferate. It’s possible that fructose also gives you cancer, but this study doesn’t show that.
[1] http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/early/2010/07/16/0008-5472.CAN-09-4615.full.pdf
August 3rd, 2010 on 12:04 pm
Oh yeah, Rupert: steven@ssloss.com
If you wouldn’t mind.
August 3rd, 2010 on 12:11 pm
24:48 rx’d
excellent wod!
August 3rd, 2010 on 12:35 pm
Looking good Mark!
August 3rd, 2010 on 1:36 pm
Interesting article about low-carb ‘diet’ vs. low-fat ‘diet’ and the impact on heart disease.
August 3rd, 2010 on 1:37 pm
Article mentioned above linked in my name.
August 3rd, 2010 on 1:56 pm
Joe,
The only interesting thing about such studies is they spend a couple of million dollars to do a data fitting exercise which has “inconclusive” results and for the greater part is “open to interpretation”…
We all know through personal experience that paleo is more effective and works well for an average audience than calorie counter diet
August 3rd, 2010 on 2:33 pm
Abi et al – can someone post the actual carb content of the “low carb” v. “high carb” diet? The common version of low carb doesn’t come anywhere close to what we usually prescribe for weight loss.
All – last Paleo Challenge before the Paleo Challenge finale at Saturday.
Wednesday, 7:!5pm
Moby Dicks
See you there!
August 3rd, 2010 on 2:52 pm
low carb was 20 g/day x 3 months then increase in 5 g day increments until stable weight achieved.
August 3rd, 2010 on 2:53 pm
should say 5g/wk
August 3rd, 2010 on 3:06 pm
Brian,
It was legit. But the key is that low carb was as much fat and protein as you want. Low fat was 1200-1800 calories. Same weight loss and better blood profile resulted from the low carb.
August 3rd, 2010 on 3:12 pm
i have only read the abstract but it looks like they put the breaks on the weight loss in the low carb group by increasing carb intake while the low carb group averaged 11 lb weight loss over a year despite severe calorie restriction. (I think I eat 1200 kcal in scraps off my 3 year olds plate during dinner)
August 3rd, 2010 on 3:33 pm
JeffJ(2) – We had talked earlier this morning about the difference between sweet potatoes and potatoes and why sweet potatoes are advertised as OK while potatoes are considered evil. Apparently – this is based on Glycemic Index. Potatoes have a load of 70 +/- 8 while Sweet Potatoes only have a load of 48 +/- 6.
I’ve got a copy of the Jenkins et.al. 1981 article from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Not being a scientist or clinician, I’m not going to comment on the validity of the study design.
Email me at wwickha1 at yahoo dot com if you want a copy.
August 3rd, 2010 on 3:46 pm
24:02 rxd. Samantha and Lindsey– super impressive times!!
August 3rd, 2010 on 3:49 pm
So I just happened to find the full text of the fructose article somehow … (thanks)
I’m no biochemist, but the key takeaway from the article is that fructose seems to work better than other sugars in a nucleic acid synthesis reaction (called the nonoxidative pentose phosphate pathway) and that fructose seems to help induce the generation of an enzyme called thymidine kinase, which makes that nucleic acid reaction work even better.[1,2] So it’s kind of a vicious cycle of cancer badness. Basically: fructose helps existing pancreatic cancer cells make genetic material, which helps them multiply.
They grew the pancreatic cancer cells they used in the study in the lab with fructose concentrations that have been seen in humans following a standard Western diet, so this apparently isn’t just a concern for theoretical test subjects theoretically force fed fructose solutions all day, like you’d see in other studies.
The authors also cited some epidemiological studies that associated refined fructose intake with higher pancreatic cancer rates. That doesn’t mean that fructose _causes_ cancer, but it’s a good clue that it might.[3,4]
Also, apparently the Cancer Research journal charges both subscription/per article fees to readers and page fees to authors. Assholes.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentose_phosphate_pathway
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thymidine_kinase
[3] Michaud DS, Liu S, Giovannucci E, et al. Dietary sugar, glycemic load, and pancreatic cancer risk in a prospective study. J Natl Cancer Inst 2002;94:1293–300.
[4] Larsson SC, Bergkvist L, Wolk A. Consumption of sugar and sugarsweetened foods and the risk of pancreatic cancer in a prospective study. Am J Clin Nutr 2006;84:1171–6.
August 3rd, 2010 on 3:55 pm
There’s a really big comment from me about the fructose article waiting for moderation, but the shorter summary is that fructose helps existing pancreatic cancer cells produce genetic material, which helps them multiply. They do this at fructose concentrations that are realistic in humans.
They also mentioned some epidemiological articles which correlate high fructose consumption with greater pancreatic cancer risk.
August 3rd, 2010 on 3:56 pm
The intern will fuck you up if you don’t put your KBs back in the KB corral:
http://tumblr.com/xmcevfr2t
Also, bets/contracts board is up.
August 3rd, 2010 on 4:03 pm
Aaron-
You’re right that the article is short on details. However, when it comes to most of these nutrition discussions, that’s the way I prefer it. If the articles and discussions go beyond 2 or 3 paragraphs, I have to break out a dictionary and/or medical text. I prefer summaries along the lines of Silent Assassin’s from the Rob Wolf seminar. In case anyone missed it:
Fructose is poison.
Gluten is poison.
Your protein source must have a face and a soul, so you can kill it and bring its essence into your being.
August 3rd, 2010 on 4:29 pm
Brian PCF,
I want to see your closet in your home.
August 3rd, 2010 on 4:49 pm
Great profile Mark!
August 3rd, 2010 on 4:57 pm
Brian,
Overall time – 1:56:26
My apologies, but I ran the Chicago Rock&Roll Half marathon on Sunday and came in at 8:53 pace…goal was sub 9. Felt good and no carb loading or anything like that. Did cramp up last mile
Mark,
Great write-up. I always enjoy hanging out and chatting after the WODs.
Did a WOD at Crossfit Impact. Carlos (owner) is a great guy. Thanks Carlos. And thanks Jonathan forth kipping lessons.
5 Rounds
7 KB swings
7 KB SDHP
100 yard run
6:02
August 3rd, 2010 on 6:14 pm
Michael – 23:30 Rx’d
August 3rd, 2010 on 7:00 pm
22:29 rx’d
be leery of the wods that look easy…
August 3rd, 2010 on 7:16 pm
21:06 Rx’d
That was no joke. Brian M that was impressive. Great job to the 5PM crew.
August 3rd, 2010 on 7:28 pm
Combining two of my slowest exercises (running and sit ups)- 26:24 @ 40 reps
August 3rd, 2010 on 8:11 pm
16:20 Rx’d
Thanks John. This one was kind of right up my alley. Also, thanks Chad for staying on me about proper form and the motivation to get through those last few sit-ups. Great job everyone at the 6 pm.
August 3rd, 2010 on 8:32 pm
23:56 rx’d
August 3rd, 2010 on 9:02 pm
Skipped the metcon to do remedial deadlifting today and then I got an unbroken muscle-up PR: 7 reps. These are the 2 movements that hurt me at regionals so it was a good “train the weakness” day.
August 3rd, 2010 on 9:32 pm
22:54 rx
August 3rd, 2010 on 9:44 pm
DNF Ugh!!! Back tightened up during the last run so I couldn’t do the Deadlifts.
August 3rd, 2010 on 10:17 pm
Didn’t have much time today, so made up Elizabeth from Sunday:
21-15-9, squat cleans (95#) and ring dips
8:41 RX – about a 30 sec PR from last October.
August 3rd, 2010 on 10:28 pm
22:18 rx’d.
Form was good so decent day for me. Should have actually pushed harder on the runs as the DL weight was light enough that I could have toughed it out. Next time I’ll shoot for sub 22.
August 3rd, 2010 on 10:40 pm
22:00 rx’d — would have broken 16:00 but I was at the back of the gym.
August 4th, 2010 on 7:27 am
18:10 RX’d I think.
August 4th, 2010 on 8:47 am
23:04 rx’d