Week #1

Hey Block CrossFitters! We are so glad you are teaming up and joining us for another nutrition challenge. This one is a bit different than some of the challenges we’ve done in the past and we are focusing on “teams” this time. Why? Because whenever you’re trying to accomplish a goal it’s always better to have some support! Many of you have created friendships with others at the box and this is a great way to increase accountability and connect with each other.

Body composition analysis will be available at the beginning and the end of the challenge for those who are interested but is NOT required to participate. The winners will be determined by the team with the most points, not fat loss or muscle gain.

Each Sunday you will receive an e-mail outlining the challenge for that week. Most of the weekly challenges are directly related to nutrition and some, although not specific to nutrition, can ultimately impact your food choices and/ or performance in the gym. For example, during week #3 we are focusing on sleep because not only does it affect your energy levels and workouts, but did you know that being tired can have an impact on your food choices by causing you to crave unhealthy items and eat more calories.

The weekly challenges may seem simple, and many of them are, but all too often people don’t do these “simple” behaviors because things like work or life get in the way. During this challenge we are not promoting elimination of any foods or requiring you to follow a specific diet during this challenge. You will not be penalized for making poor food choices or “cheating” as people often refer to it. We are focusing on behavior change and promoting a well-balanced diet emphasizing fresh, minimally processed foods.

If the challenge of the week is specific to nutrition for example, week #4 is eat breakfast, we will give suggestions. You already know that all breakfast is not created equal so we will provide some ideas.

Team captains are responsible for submitting scores at the end of each week (if required based on the challenge) and for helping team mates stay connected over the course of the 12 weeks.

Your challenge for week #1 is to complete “Murph”

This workout was created in memory of Michael Murphy who was killed in Afghanistan in June of 2005. It was one of his favorite workouts (see attached score card). You can break up the pull ups, push-ups and air squats any way you’d like.

And… yep, you guessed it, we are going to be repeating it at the end of the challenge again as a way of measuring progress.

How to earn points:

Each team member will earn one point for completing the workout. You MUST submit a score card in the nutrition challenge drop-box (near the desk at the box) or e-mail it to: blockcfnutritionchallenge@gmail.com by Sunday, February 28. Late scores will not be accepted.

*To encourage teamwork you have the opportunity to earn 6 bonus points if the entire team does the workout together. You must submit a photo of your team before or after doing the workout as proof.

You can e-mail it to: blockcfnutritionchallenge@gmail.com.

As with anything, you will get out of this challenge what you put into it. If you have any questions you can email us at blockcfnutritionchallenge@gmail.com or stop Caitlin or Juana in the gym.