max effort reps

Part 2: Homeostasis & exercise

by Instructor Training Program member Uran
In Part 2 of the Homeostasis blog series, we discussed the effect of diet on your body’s ability to regulate the metabolic condition. When your body fails to respond appropriately to your nutritional consumption, your metabolic systems shift out of balance, which can lead to all sorts of endocrine disorders. Today, we’re talking about something fun…
Something all of us in the CFM community share: a love of exercise.
Exercise, in all its forms, has a largely positive effect on the body. When you work out, you expend energy which sets off a series of reactions to try and maintain homeostasis. Your body knows it needs to get more oxygen to create new energy and sustain the increased activity level, and it does this in two ways.
First, your breathing rate increases to allow you to introduce oxygen to the bloodstream at a faster rate. Second, the increase of oxygen in the bloodstream prompts your heart to beat faster in order to deliver all that extra oxygen to your cells.
Why is this awesome?
By getting more oxygen into your lungs and then into your bloodstream, you exercise your heart, which in turn allows it to beat slower and with less effort. In the same way that repeated exercise in the gym relates to improved performance, repeated exercise for your heart causes it to work more efficiently and have more time to relax, thus lowering your blood pressure. So, come in, break a sweat, and feel even better about it than you already do.
And don’t forget that food and sleep are also major factors in helping your body maintain the stable condition it wants to be in. Help yourself out and give your body the tools to succeed.

Kerry and Tripp on wall balls and roll outs!

Today’s schedule

6a: All Levels CrossFit- Beka
7a: All Levels CrossFit- Beka
8a: Open Gym- Tirzah
12n: All Levels CrossFit- Beka
4p: Open Gym- Lis
5p: All Levels CrossFit- Beka
6p: All Levels CrossFit- Beka
7p: All Levels CrossFit- Cassie
8p: Open Gym- Cassie
8:15p: Yoga- Samantha

Workout of the Day (WOD)

A1. Dumbbell external rotation: 3 sets of 10 (ea arm)
A2. Ring rows (2-second pause at top): 3 set of 10, rest :30
B. Back squat: 3 at 70% of one-rep max, 3 @ 80%, 3 @ 90% (3:00 rest between sets)
C. 10 minutes max effort: Row for meters, AirDyne for calories, jump rope singles or double unders

And coming tomorrow…

“Angie” – complete for time:
100 pull ups
100 push ups
100 sit ups
100 squats

Holiday Travel Workout

100 burpees for time

THURS 12.5.13 Homeostasis & Exercise Read More »

Part 2: Homeostasis & food

by Instructor Training Program member Uran

In yesterday’s post, I talked about the effect of sleep on your body’s ability to maintain a stable condition.
When you don’t provide your body with enough rest and recovery, hormonal imbalances occur, resulting in weight gain, lackluster skin, and decreased muscle growth.
Nearly as important as rest is the role your diet plays in aiding your ability to stay in homeostasis.
Metabolism plays a big role in maintaining homeostasis. In the simplest terms, you can think of your metabolism as a fire. The quality of food you eat can be thought of as sawdust or logs that are thrown on the fire.
Things that produce a very quick insulin response or spike in blood sugar, such as sweets or heavily processed foods, are like sawdust being tossed into the fire. They create a big flash for a few seconds and then nada.
Good-quality, whole foods, on the other hand, are more akin to a log. They burn nice and consistently for a long period of time, providing sustained energy, rather than energy spikes and crashes that cause your body to overcompensate to regulate your blood sugar.
When your homeostatic balance becomes disrupted and stays that way, problems can occur. Your pancreas can become over-taxed from working extra hard on blood-sugar regulation due to consumption of less than stellar foods. Your cells can become resistant to insulin.
In any case, extended periods of metabolic imbalance in the body can lead to obesity, diabetes, hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia, and thyroid dysfunction.
Be kind to your body and give it the fuel it needs. Sure, this isn’t the time of year when many people are focused on nutrition, but don’t forget nutrition coaching is included with every CFM membership.
If you’d like us to take a look at a three-day food log for you and offer some feedback, contact us and we’ll send you details on what to track for us, so we can teach you how to optimize your health and make better gains in the box!
Stay tuned for final part of the series where I’ll discuss the relationship between exercise and homeostasis.

Jason (front), Jared & Scott D on barbell roll outs.

Today’s schedule

6a: All Levels CrossFit- Rebecca
7a: All Levels CrossFit- Rebecca
8a: Open Gym- Tirzah
11a: Yoga- Amy
12n: All Levels CrossFit- Amy
4p: Open Gym- Jim
5p: All Levels CrossFit- Lis
6p: All Levels CrossFit- Lis
7p: All Levels CrossFit- Raul
8p: Open Gym- Raul

Workout of the Day (WOD)

A1. Bench Press: 3 at 70% of your one-rep max, 3 @ 80%, 3 @ 90%
A2. Dips: 3 x 10 (1 min rest)
B. Complete 5 one-minute rounds:
You have one minute to complete the following:
5 thrusters 95/65
Max rep rope climbs
*Rest 1 min between rounds