1. Q: There are a few vitamins and minerals in my diet that I don’t get quite enough of so I try to supplement with a multi-vitamin. I’ve been reading that a lot of people think that multi-vitamins aren’t really too effective though. Do you take a multi-vitamin? If so, which one do you like? If not, why not?
A: I’ve always taken more of a minimalist approach when it comes to supplements. On one end of the spectrum you have those people who take a supplement for everything at the expense of ignoring basic food. At the other end, you have those like Steve Jobs (RIP) who, as I’ve been reading in his biography, Steve Jobs, would go extended periods where all he’d eat is fruit, and ignore supplements altogether.
As is the case with everything, the answer lies somewhere in the middle.
With regards to a multivitamin, I’m actually indifferent, as I feel if your diet is diverse in fruits, vegetables, and dead animal flesh, you’re probably good to go.
Having said that, it’s pretty near impossible to ingest EVERY mineral and vitamin known to man.
Some will argue that the body can’t (or won’t) absorb anything in pill form. Others say that’s a bunch of foo-foo nonsense. If anything, I feel taking a multivitamin is a great way to at least cover your bases. I mean, multivitamins are fairly inexpensive, so I don’t see the big deal.
At the end of day, at best, like I said, you cover your bases. At worst: you’re down $10 for a six month supply. No biggie.
As an alternative, you can try something like Athletic Greens, which I feel is an awesome product and something I’ve been using for the past few months.
2. A HUGE congratulations goes out to CP coach, George Abele, on an impressive win in his MMA amateur debut this past Saturday night.
George had a big cheering section as all the coaches, as well as many CP clients headed out to Western Massachusetts to support him beating some dudes head in.
Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve never gone out of my way to watch MMA. Sure, I’ve seen a few fights here and there on Spike tv, but I’d usually watch a fight or two and then flip it back over to Dukes of Hazzard re-runs or something. I just never got into them.
Let me just say, though, that when you go see the fights in person – and you actually know someone fighting – it’s a whole nother ball game.
It’s sick.
At one point, after round 2, I wanted Sparta kick a chair or something and then go all Gladiator and just stand up and yell at the top of my lungs:
ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED!!?!?!
Oh, I was entertained! Great job George. We’re proud of you.
3. I had a senior in high-school email me about in-season training and whether or not it could be done. Here’s what I said.
Yes
LOL. Okay, I said a little more than that. Here’s what I actually said:
In-season training can be a bit of a conundrum, but it stands to reason it can’t definitely be implemented if done correctly. The key is to:
- Understand that you will lose some strength during the season. You can’t be under the impression that you’re going to make much (if any) gains during the season. So don’t get pissed if you see your gym numbers dip a bit.
- The main emphasis of an in-season training program is to prevent injury and maintain some semblance of progress you established during your off-season training.
- Condense training stress as much as possible. For instance, with our high-school baseball guys, we like to hit the lower body pretty hard the day after a game. Then, depending on the position one plays, we’ll have them get 1-2 more sessions in during the week based around their practice schedule.
- Generally speaking, though, two or three sessions per week is completely fine (and I’d lean more towards two). I’d make it a point of allotting one of your session to be the day after a game and then maybe another session two days prior to your next game…………..and, if you can pull it off, maybe a REAL easy GPP/mobility session the day before.
- Please, for the love of god, refrain from doing any excessive agility or “jump specific” training during the season. You get enough of that playing your sport (basketball). Seriously, don’t do it!
You’re a young kid, and resilient. Assuming you’re not injured or have a funky injury history, I’d recommend Eric Cressey’s Show and Go program. It’s FOUR months of programming, and it includes 2,3, and 4 day templates, so you could easily fit it into your schedule.
4. The following is a video that’s been making its rounds around the interwebz the past few days. I’ve had several people send it my way asking what my thoughts were on it. But first, the video:
Here’s the description of the video on the page itself:
Taken from an event with veteran CrossFit athletes. Hitting axle clean and jerks. Supervised by Strongman Certified Coaches. Axle weight is about 10-15lbs. This lift is not a standard Clean and Jerk.
I almost feel like this is some sort of hoax. How anyone who claims to be a “veteran CrossFit athlete” or “certified strongman coach” would allow this video to see the light of day is beyond me.
I feel like the peeps who put this video up are just trying to throw more flame onto the fire – given all the negative talk about CrossFit – and get a laugh at everyone else’s expense.
I mean, seriously!?!?!? Why not just take everyone who appears in that video and strap a rocket to their back and launch them into a brick wall? At the very least, it would make for a killer WOD.
It’s pretty sad (and frustrating) to see this. As a coach, it pains me to see that this is the kind of training that’s being “sold” to the masses about CrossFit. Don’t get me wrong, there ARE affiliates out there who do it right – and those coaches should be commended for their efforts. But this? This is just garbage. And the coaches involved – whether it’s CrossFit, Strongman, Olympic, whatever, I don’t care – should be ashamed of themselves.
I’m not kidding, though: this HAS to be a joke. Right?
5. And finally. I’m posting this video because it’s awesome.
