Xuan just found out beer isn't paleo

There have been some murmurs around the gym about the upcoming Paleo challenge in April. Since I’m already dubbed the Paleo bad guy of the gym, I might as well clear up what to expect as well as field your questions and complaints in the comments today.

I don’t want to change my diet and am bummed I will miss out on a monthly challenge!

This will be completely voluntary and separate from our usual monthly challenge.

What about burpees, can we bank them, prepay them etc.?

This will be run quite differently from the challenge last August —  for example, NO burpee penalties.

So what will be different this time around?

• There will be a cash buy-in (and subsequent prize) to ensure you really are committing to the challenge.
• No burpee penalties. You cheat and you’re out… it’s that simple.
• You’ll be teamed up with a partner — not of your choosing. Why? Think how extra hard you push when we throw a partner WOD at you because you don’t want to let your team down. Same idea behind this… evil genius, right?
• This will be Paleo, not Primal. Biggest change for most of you (as well as us trainers) will be no dairy.

Why so strict?

For that, let me quote Whole9Life.com as we will be basing this on their Whole30 (aka strict paleo) program:

What is the Whole30?

Certain food groups (like grains, legumes and dairy) are probably having a negative impact on your health and fitness without you even realizing it. Are your energy levels inconsistent or non-existent? Do you have aches and pains that can’t be explained by over-use or injury? Are you having a hard time losing weight no matter how hard you try? Do you have some sort of condition (like skin problems, digestive ailments, seasonal allergies or fertility issues) that medication hasn’t helped? These symptoms may be directly related to the foods you eat – even the “healthy” stuff. So how do you know if (and how) these foods are affecting you?

Strip them from your diet completely. Cut out all the inflammatory, insulin-spiking, calorie-dense but nutritionally sparse food groups for a full 30 days. Let your body heal and recover from whatever effects those foods may be provoking. Push the “reset” button with your metabolism, systemic inflammation, and the downstream effects of the food choices you’ve been making. Learn once and for all how the foods you’ve been eating are actually affecting your day to day life, and your long term health.

I’d encourage you to read up on their site about the latest Whole 30 challenge as you may have questions that they already answered. More details will be coming soon enough. But if you have burning questions about the whys and hows, feel free to post to comments today and I’ll field them as quickly as I can.

WOD 03.07.11

Ring Inversion Skillwork
Hang Power Clean 2-2-2
Back Squat