Crossfit Total part 2

Crossfit Total

Daniel Arik Whitehead gettin' his pump on

Clean and Jerk

Well we have been watching videos and reading Crossfit Journal articles in an effort to execute the movements of crossfit in the correct way. Today we had

As Many rounds in 20 mins of:

15 Clean and Jerk 95 lb
Run 400m

On the clean and jerks we have focused on going into a pretty deep squat instead of just picking the weight up to our shoulders. Its much more efficient especially when you're attempting heavier weights as the squat allows you to get underneath the weight while its travelling upward. Anyway, another effect of the squat is to really burn your legs so I'm quite tired now.

On another note, I've decided that following the strict Zone diet is way too hard here. But that doesn't mean I cant attempt to eat healthy. I try to balance my meals out with decent carbs, protein, and good fats i.e. almonds, cashews, other nuts. We have also had a lot of fresh fruit recently so that has been a very nice change. Everything from apples, and pears, to cantelopes and honeydews. Definitely makes for an all around better meal.

A lot of people have found it very amusing that I talked about tuna having mercury in it. Well let me be more clear. Eating TOO MUCH of anything is probably a bad thing. A story on tuna and the amounts of mercury in it can be seen here: Bodybulding.com Tuna Article

Also I want to assure everyone that we will have more pictures up soon. I know its only really been myself and Josh so far and I'm goig to try to change that.

Until next time,

Brian

Another link

Because the first Paypal donation link was at the very beginning, its now a little harder to get to. So I'm reposting it here.

Zone Diet

Well I tell you what...

Figuring out a way to be in compliance with the zone diet while deployed to a small base like ours is nearly impossible. With a very irregular supply of fresh fruit and vegetables, its tough to get the right type of carbs. I mean I could go and get my carbs from the countless sugar snacks available in our little DFAC. But c'mon! It amazes me how the Army wants all soldiers to comply with weight standards yet feeds them the worst food known to man. We do have quite a good supply of tuna. But I have been told that too much fish can be bad due to the mercury content in them.

This morning I am contemplating my breakfast.

So far I have

2 250ml cartons of milk

-3.5 g fat
-11g carb (11g of sugar(lactose))
-7 g of protein

so total that up to

-7g fat
-22g carb
-14g protein

plus a pear

-18g carb

I think I might be able to get some sausage patties or links at 7 am this morning

so thats 2 blocks with 4 links which takes me to the requisite number of protein blocks

Now this is not exacting.

-7g of fat (should be 6)
-40g carb (should be 36)
-28g protein (right where it should be)

I suppose I could try to add one half a block of protein... that would get me to equality between everything.

What does everyone think?

Our Iraqi Carpenter makes a nice Plyo Box

Numbers Announcement

Well we're up to approximately $440 thanks to our generous donors. We'll keep you posted as we progress further.

-Brian

Our numbers are growing

When Brian and I started training using the Crossfit methods a lot of people looked at us kind of weird, and made snide remarks about what we were doing.  In less than 90 days we have gone from 2 guys training Crossfit, to a total of 8, and I am proud to say that 2 of our 8 are the Company Commander and First Sergeant.  I can realistically see having 20-25% of our 108 man infantry company training Crossfit by the end of the deployment.  On a personal note, I finished Fran in 7:52 today using 100 pounds (dont have the ability to put 95 on the bar) which is a 50% improvement in time over the last time  I did it in the middle of March.  I've also dropped about 30 pounds, no big deal.  Thanks again to everyone that takes the time to check us out here on the blog.  

Our Company Crossfit Board

Education is clearly one of Crossfit's greatest assets so we decided to make the materials found on the Crossfit website available to the rest of the soldiers here at JSS Sadr City.  Brian and I put together this information board and placed it directly across from our Crossfit area.  Today we had another soldier join the world of Crossfit with a taste of "Michael."  I think we've found another believer.

Brian getting Crossfit

Soldiers in Action

Pictures of what we have scratched together

Donor Wall

This is the list that will have the names and locations of everyone who has donated.

3. Allen Griffin - Roswell, GA
2. Richard Holliday - Fayetteville, NC
1. Marian Collins - Mission Viejo, CA

Help Out Crossfit Sadr City!

Hi! My name is SGT Brian Collins of Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. My unit is deployed to Sadr City, Iraq which is a Shiite enclave here in the capital city of Baghdad. We left the land of the free in the beginning of February and got to Iraq about a month later. Now, our company is located at JSS Sadr City (JSS is an acronym for Joint Security Station). With a busy schedule and a lot of stress from day to day operations, we find that a great way to blow off steam is through good hard exercise.

My friend Josh and I started following a workout program called Crossfit at the beginning of March and we quickly realized that this methodology provided a great way to get and stay in great shape. This is especially true when applied to a deployment as the equipment necessary to execute is minimal by today's standards.

Having found what we believe to be a superior workout program, we have been very vocal toward the other soldiers in our unit as we try to convince them of the value of Crossfit. Not only does it provide great cardiovascular, strength, and general functional fitness for day to day life, it's especially rewarding for those in a physically demanding job such as ours where we must carry 50-75 pounds, lift heavy objects, and move at a high rate of speed at any given time. It is my firm belief after using this program for 2 months that if the Army adopted the Crossfit methodology, the level of soldier fitness and physical capability would rise to a never before seen level.

My goal, along with my counterpart Josh, is to raise money through donations to this blog to purchase specific equipment needed to allow a greater number of soldiers to begin Crossfitting. Already, we have seen the interest level rise among a few of our collegues and I believe that with an increased amount of equipment, to include bumper weight sets, kettlebells, and medicine balls, soldier interest would be piqued and thereby increase the overall well-being, fitness, and combat readiness of our company.

The equipment I am looking to purchase with the donations can be viewed by clicking on Rogue Fitness Fire Team Package. It would include all of that equipment minus the rowing machine as it is not able to be shipped to an APO address in Iraq via the commercial channels. The total amount I have been quoted for the equipment plus shipping is $4708.74. The shipping alone would be $1,386.00 so I believe the $3,321.84 for the equipment is a very reasonable price. This equipment would be avaibable for use by our entire company and would be maintained to the highest standard so as to ensure use by many in the years to come.

We will be posting information about the total amounts donated as well as an announcement when we purchase the equipment and many pictures of soldiers utilizing it. To donate, find and click on the link below to contribute to the pay pal account I have set up. Thanks so much for your time and assistance.


-Brian