Miscellaneous Miscellany Monday: Multivitamins, In-Season Training, MMA, and More
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.
Comments for This Entry
Nock
Wow.........is that CrossFit video for REAL??????. I think CrossFit if it is done correctly is a fun sport but this is just WRONG.December 5, 2011 at 10:04 am |
Barath
That crossfit video is BS for sure. But speaking of girls training, my gym is usually populated with the "getting on the treadmill and talking" women (for the most part). But I recently had the opportunity to train for a day at the gym in the University of Toronto, and saw a bunch of girls doing cleans like it was nobody's business. I tried my best to be macho with my squats, but I am sure they were laughing at me from behind. Would've made the ladies that comment on this site proud.December 5, 2011 at 10:05 am |
Smitty
Great final video Tony. That young man is wise beyond his years.December 5, 2011 at 11:00 am |
Louis Reynaud
Tony did you read the article about crossfit (I think it was 2 issues ago) in Men's Health? I thought it was a pretty good take on the "cult."December 5, 2011 at 11:04 am |
Sammy
true story..sent that video to one of my colleagues to mock crossfit..her words were "wow those girls are strong" smhDecember 5, 2011 at 11:07 am |
Jeff
Anyone else see the 3-legged dog at the 2:20 mark in the Crossfit video? If the people in the video keep working out like that they can probably expect a similar fate.December 5, 2011 at 11:22 am |
'House' of Fitness
OMG! That is the ugliest crossfit video I have ever seen! The crossfit trainers I know wouldn't allow anything like that! What is with the split grip to start out? Geez. Not your typical training. I am ashamed to even see that associated with crossfit! Wow!December 5, 2011 at 11:42 am |
Mozelstein
That vid is awesome indeed.December 5, 2011 at 1:23 pm |
BostonBarrister
I was told this is actually a strongman competition lift called a continental clean (performed badly). I have no earthly idea why you'd have a bunch of people who likely can't properly perform a hang clean try these - I think the only think preventing massive injury is the lack of load.December 5, 2011 at 1:28 pm |
Bobby
Excellent blog, Tony. The CrossFit video made me wince, as I could imagine all the soft-tissue damage being done with each rep. The final video was truly inspired.December 5, 2011 at 2:04 pm |
Sean
The "split grip" they were using is an actual grip, i believe an older one called "continental grip", yet the men and women had are hard time with it probably because they never learned the concept of a traditional clean from the floor to the chest and moving under the weight with out too much use of the shoulders. You can kinda see that these guys have either a poor or no training of that fundamental movement.Lets facilitate weak grip by teaching the continental clean.... I love the shot of the girl icing her knee in the background. And yes the 3 legged dog is about the only cool spot in this video. Where were the "coaches" and "trainers?" It looked like a room full of friends sitting around waiting for someone to do something special. Eh ...December 5, 2011 at 2:08 pm |
BC
Well that video is an atrocity, and if you check yesterday''s Crossfit mainsite (the affiliate section), you'll see another crossfit promoting that video and those movement patterns by comparing it to something that Rob Orlando (an ACTUAL veteran strongman competitor) did. I do believe it's unfair to categorize Crossfit as one thing, since there are so many different Crossfit gyms in the country now and as Tony mentioned, there are many of them who do it right. It's a shame that those who do it right have to be compared to the above garbage, just because they share the "Crossfit" brand name. What a pathetic attempt to coach and execute the continental clean, an old-school lift that when performed correctly actually allows a lifter to move a tremendous amount of weight in a much less dangerous manner.December 5, 2011 at 2:21 pm |
Cameron
C'mon that video has to be a joke for sure. Maybe it's April fools on the crossfit calendar. Ridiculous.December 5, 2011 at 5:36 pm |
Jay OB
That made my back and shoulders hurt just watching it!December 6, 2011 at 2:47 pm |
Ruffolous
I dug the final video and am sensitive and sympathetic to his argument, but honestly, all I kept thinking was "Christian Bale, Christian Bale, Christian Bale..."December 6, 2011 at 8:06 pm |
Louk
That's crazy. I thought it might be a joke too...until I looked at other videos on their channel. They really promote this "technique."December 7, 2011 at 4:13 pm |
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