Bench Press,
3x5
Complete as many rounds in 10
minutes as you can of:
7 Front Squats
(M=135, F=95)
7 Burpee Pull Ups
Doc (real name Derek) has been busting his butt in the gym over the last
few months trying hard to lean up and get back into to the shape he was in
around a year ago when he first joined Steve's Club. For one reason or another,
Doc will admit that his diet and training completely fell off over the last
year as he let his body and mind while becoming fat, lazy and miserable.
For a while there he said he just stopped caring and took things hard to the streets as a way
to deal with the stress and anxiety around him. When his mother past away 2
months ago to cancer, Doc will tell you that he was really devastated and just mad
at the world for that stretch of time.
Feeling like he was living in a black hole, Doc decided to give me a
call on my cell to tell me he wanted to make his return and get himself back to
training and spending time at the club with the right people. In only a few short
months since returning, Doc has already made huge strides. Not only is he getting back
into shape (tearing up Fran and the rest of the crazy CrossFit girls....if you
don't know we are referring to workout names by the way!) but Doc's mind is in
the right place. He's now training consistently, mentoring the younger kids at
the club, making a few bucks helping out with the paleokits, actively seeking
full-time employment, and has enrolled himself into school for the Fall.
On his quest to feel and look his best, Doc has also taken in active
interest in understanding nutrition and its effects on the body. As a strong
proponent of the paleo diet, I am always willing to share what I know and offer dietary advice that could not only help Doc become a better CrossFit athlete, but become healthier in the process. In addition to spending countless
hours talking about diet before and after class (not to mention other times during
the day), I thought it would be a great idea to take Doc with me on one of my weekly
trips to Trader Joe's.
Trader Joe's is a rather unique grocery store with a lot of rather unique people that food shop there. Let's just say it's an interesting experience for a young guy from the concrete jungle of Camden, NJ who's only food shopping experience consists of a visit to the local mom and pop corner store at the end of the block.
Living in the city of Camden, one of the real challenges is finding good, high quality fruits, vegetables and meats. Instead, what you mostly find in corner stores and the one and only ethnic grocery store in town are stores stocked with cheap food products derived from flour, corn, sugars and grains. Foods that cost significantly cheaper to make and buy but devoid of any nutritional value. This brings us back to Trader Joe's where choices abound of fresh real foods and much higher quality of offerings, at reasonable prices. So we toured the store slowly learning about what foods to eat and what foods to avoid. More importantly, we learned how to read labels and spot the common culprits that we can do without in our diet (or at least in minimum amounts).
Doc will tell you it definately was a cool learning experience and will certainly help him make better dietary choices going forward. Not to mention the fact he now has access to a grocery store where he can actually find a Gala apple, a bag of raw almonds and some free range stew meats he can throw on the grill after a tough workout at the club.