Well today is Blog Action Day and I was excited this year. My first year I could maybe help out a cause. I thought to myself, cool, I can make a little difference and let a couple people know about a topic that will undoubtedly help others. Then, I found out the topic… Global Warming. Well, Super, now what the hell am I going to write about related to Global Warming!? I usually talk about health and fitness so I was really stuck on what I would write about.

Then I remembered Lewis Pugh. The first man to ever swim in the five world oceans. This is because in order to accomplish that feat you have to swim the Arctic Ocean. THE ARCTIC OCEAN! Nobody is that stupid to swim in the Arctic! Now, Lewis Pugh had been to the Arctic before and trip after trip he began to notice the effects of Global Warming, so he wanted to do something that would “Shake the lapels of the world leaders”. To do help he did what he did best. He swam 1 kilometer in just under 19 minutes while wearing this:

A Speedo.

I don’t know how much you know about the water in the Arctic Ocean, so to all get on the same page, I’ll let him describe it to you.

“Just to put it in perspective, 27 degrees is the temperature of a normal swimming pool. This morning, the temperature of the English Channel was 18 degrees. The passengers who fell off the Titanic fell into water of just five degrees centigrade. Fresh water freezes at zero. And the water at the North Pole is minus 1.7. It’s fucking freezing.”

If you are interested in the story of how he achieved this feat, you can see a presentation he gave here.

Lewis Pugh is not the only person to complete a daunting task for a noble cause.  Many have performed great feats for different causes. Lance Armstrong bikes for cancer, Dick Hoyt runs for his son, and Martin Strel swims to save the rainforest. These extraordinary people all have one thing in common. They use the tools they have to find a way to help others.

So this really doesn’t need to be an environmental blog in order to make a difference on Blog Action Day. You just need to use the tools you have to find a way to help. So without further ado, I’ll give you three tips to save the environment and stay fit.

1. Reach for a carrot over a burger

Greenhouse gases from livestock have found to be responsible for up to 18% of carbon emissions. Think about all the grain, grass and vegetables these animals eat. Cut out the middle man and try to eat more vegetables. The Earth and your waistband will thank you.

2. Burn fat, not gas

I moved into a new place that is roughly 3 miles away from work. Now I run to work. No more car. Try to see what you can walk to instead of driving. The grocery store? The bank? Can you bike? It may take a little longer, but it is a great way to get your workout out of the way. If I run to and from work, I put down 6 miles everyday. At first it was rough, but now I hardly think about it.

3. Try Local

It doesn’t take much to buy an apple from North America over South Africa, or local produce over international. Think over every mile your food needed to travel and how many preservatives were used to keep that food fresh over the trip. If there is a farmers market in the area, I highly recommend grabbing your produce or meat there. Most prices are unbeatable by grocery stores and can be much healthier.

Images by Daily Mail

Comments: Do you have any other suggestions to stay healthy and combat global warming?

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Along with everything else in this world, there are pros and cons to CrossFit. I have seen many of my clients get hurt doing these workouts because of the pressure to complete it within a given time frame. As they get faster, form tends to go out the window. However, once proper form has been enforced to reduce the risk of injury, I highly recommend these following WOD’s (Workout of the Day):

Note: All exercise descriptions and videos can be found on the CrossFit website, here.

1. Tabata This

Choose 4 exercises. If you can take it,  go with a Thruster, Kettlebell Swing, Box Jump, and Burpee.

If you are fairly new to the fitness game, use the Dumbbell Squat, Overhead Press, Romanian Deadlift, and the Lat Pulldown.

Now, take the first exercise and do 8 sets of as many reps as you can do in 20 seconds. Once your 20 second mark hits, take a 10 second break. After the 8 sets (4 minutes) have past, you have earned a 1 minute break. Keep going until you finish all 4 exercises. The whole thing should take 20 minutes.

If you find that a 1 minute break is too short, I recommend taking as long as you need to regroup. Just try to keep the pace for the 8 sets and then take your break.

2. Fight gone Bad

Aptly named, if you finish this one, you look like you just lost a fight.

Start by setting up 5 stations. Get the necessary equipment for each of the following exercises:

• Wall-ball
• Sumo deadlift high-pull
• Box Jump
• Push-press
• Row

You are going to spend 1 minute at each station with no break in between. Count the reps at each station, and add up the calories burned in your row. Calculate your total and try to improve that number each round. If it is too hard, I don’t advise changing the exercises, rather, the weights. CrossFit recommends 3 to 5 rounds of this, but I would start off with just 2. Build from there.

3. Murph

Named after Lt. Michael Murphy, this is an excellent workout if you don’t belong to a gym. All you need are running shoes and a chin-up bar. Complete the workout as follows:

• Run 1 mile
• 100 Pull-ups
• 200 Push-ups
• 300 Squats
• Run 1 mile

You can approach this workout a few different ways. I would recommend starting with 0.5 mile first and building to a full mile after a few times. With the weighted exercises, you can cycle for 10 rounds of 10, 20, and 30 (your best bet).

If you have access to a gym, you can make it easier for the first two exercises. I use a Gravitron to complete all the pull-ups (adjusting the weight as needed), or a Smith Press and slowly bringing the incline up as needed. I really like this workout to prepare for any physical tests like military, police, firefighter, etc.

Note: Angie, Barbara, Chelsea and Cindy are also very similar workouts to use for body weight training.

4. Fran

Ah, the cult favorite. You are only going to do two exercises here, a thruster and a pull-up. Piece of cake huh?

Perform the exercises with reps of 21-15-9. The standard weight for the thruster is 95 pounds. However, don’t feel like that is necessary. By all means, go lighter. As well, if you cannot perform the 21 pull-ups, I would recommend using the Gravitron or a lat-pulldown machine instead.

5. Linda (The three bars of death)

Three exercises-the deadlift, the bench press, and the clean. The weights recommended are as follows:

• Deadlift: 150% body weight (a 200 pound guy/gal lifts 300 pounds)
• Bench: 100% body weight (a 200 pound guy/gal lifts 200 pounds)
• Clean 75% body weight (a 200 pound guy/gal lifts 150 pounds)

Cycle through all three exercises with the following reps: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

As a side note, I rarely have a client who can do the recommended weights. So, what to do is find a weight you can perform 15 reps to failure with. Stick with that weight throughout the entire workout.

Well, there you have it. These are really the only CrossFit workouts I use. Remember to enforce proper form throughout the entire workout (even after you throw up). Each time you do a lift incorrectly, it teaches your body the wrong movement. So train safe, train smart, and train hard!

Your Digital Trainer,

Jeremiah

Images by scarndp, and BNowack.

Comments: Any questions about the WOD’s? Do you have a favorite CrossFit workout?

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