Wallball and Ring Pull ups *Added bonus-Zone Rant*
CFWU x 3 Subbed MU's for dips and pull ups 5 MU per round.
5 Ring pull ups
10 SDHP with 2 pood Kettlebell
15 Wallball 10 lbs
9 rounds
10:54
Zone Diet Rant.
It is my new position that the Zone is the same as all diets. Here is why I think that, from personal experience.
About 12 months ago I was enjoying life at a "stocky" 196lbs. Doing what I wanted. Working out in the basement with my bench press and arm curls. I felt I was getting stronger and I was having fun going for a run around the block. My food choices were very poor in retrospect. Here is an example: 3 cups of Rigatoni pasta with 3 cheese sauce. I would scoop about 2 cups of cottage cheese into the bowl and mix it up (my mouth is watering). For some taste I would put lemon juice on top. At about 6pm I would have a little nap. I would wake up and go to a bar close to my place and have a few beers with friends. Maybe chicken wings would be in my belly by 11pm. I would be asleep shortly after. Breakfast was a bagel at Tim Hortons and a large regular coffee with milk. Lunch would be Burger King or Wendy's.
The point here is that before I knew what the zone was, I ate anything and everything that I wanted. There was no portion control. I had never heard of glycemic index or Macronutrients. Why should I care? I didn't know anything about that junk and more importantly, I didn't know that I didn't know.
I am confident that last January it would not have mattered what diet I chose. South Beach, Atkins, the Jared Subway Diet... They all would have got me to the same place. Teach me portion size. Proper food choices. How to shop and cook for myself. When and why to eat. H20 intake. On and on.
The reasons above are why I think so many people have success with these types of diets. It stands to reason that if you are eating 2000 more calories then you need and you suddenly change how and what you consume that you will have terrific results. If you look at what I was eating before and compare that to now you can understand my point. I have learned it is more important to educate yourself and have a plan and follow that plan then it is to follow any one diet over another. I know from my experience that it was not difficult to improve on what I was previously doing.
Now, what does the Zone mean to me now? I use it to make responsible and wise nutrition choices (for the most part). I know what to eat, when, and more importantly, why. My education into eating has got me where I am today, more fit then I have ever been and it is my lifestyle. I have been at it for over a year. During that time I have had cheat days. Okay, cheat weeks. However, I always make my way back to the zone principles. Add Crossfit on top and you have a receipt for Elite Fitness. I now hover in the 170-175 lbs range. I still carry about 10 lbs of extra weight but I can maintain this level and still perform well (IMHO). Thank you Coach D for taking the time to help.
So, if you are starting the Zone or any other diet, learn everything you can about healthy choices. If you are forcing yourself to eat something for a short term results you will not have long term success. Make food and fitness decisions that you can implement into your lifestyle for lifelong rewards.
The one thing The Zone brings to the table is a pretty good system of measuring calories in and ensuring that all the macronutrients being taken in are in optimal balance (40/30/30). I have really been reading all the zone info in the CFJ and it still seems like it take fine tuning to get it dialed in for each individual.
ReplyDeleteCF seems to have just embraced the zone, but it is mostly the exact same as the old Body for Life eating plan (which I think is great, the eating plan, that is). In fact, I bet if one followed the BFL plan, it would be with 10% of the zone for both total calories in and macronutrient ratios.
The other really good diet is the MHs Ab diet. This is even simpler. Just eat however much food you want from the lest of incredible dense (few calories for alot of bulk food). This works too. In fact, I would bet most people (the exception being anyone with BF >10%) would lose a ton of weight just following the abs diet, I mean meat, seeds, nuts, vegtebles, some fruit, little starch, no sugar...I mean just shop along the perimeter of the grocery store diet. It is ALL THE SAME, just in a different wrapper.
Finally, I love hearing all the stories on the CF discussion board about how much muscle people are building by drinking a gallon of milk a day. Well, that gallon is 64 more grams of Protein, 104gms of CHO (lactose, low GI sugar) and I think about 72gms fat. All in all about an extra 1400kcals. That is where the weight is coming from. I bet you could eat the same amount of calories and macronutrient breakdown from chicken breast, brown rice and olive oil and get the same results.
The zone as described on CF will get one very lean and leanness results in the best scores on the benchmarks. Very few benchmarks require a great deal of strength. Finally, to get super lean, I believe you really do have to measure everything you eat. However, just winging it on great food will get most people to about 8% BF. Just my humble opinion.
In paragraph 3, I meant BF <10%.
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