Hey y’all. I was asked to put together some information on a few of the top competitors heading into the recent CrossFit Games. Somehow the three articles never made it to the site but I think there are some interesting points so I’m going to throw them up on the blog. Enjoy!
Feeding The Machine:
How the CrossFit Rockstars Feed and Water for optimum Performance.
If you have ever followed Formula 1 or drag racing the topic of fuel comes to the fore quite frequently. In this context it seems obvious that top performance is as much a function of the fuel used as the engine, aerodynamics, tires and pit-crew. Interestingly, this analogy does not hold well for the fueling of human performance. Air/fuel mixture, hydration and food quality seems more often than not left to chance with the notion that harder, longer training is the key to progress and victory. This seems to be true for the average performer anyway…he or she cannot be bothered with silly details like food quality, optimized nutrient ratios (protein, carbs and fat) nutrient timing or recovery. Train hard, eat “pretty good” and be content with average performance. For some the milk-toast average existence is worse than a root canal without anesthesia…while watching Oprah. These folks will settle for nothing but their best effort and not surprisingly they know that food may hold the “secret” to better performance and recovery, the difference between 1st and last place, the difference between milk-toast and winners circle. This series will look at some of the top contenders for the upcoming 2nd annual CrossFit Games. What you may find most interesting about these elite competitors is how very much they have in common and how relatively small are their differences when it comes to fueling the machine.
Gabe “Dutch” Lowy
Age:26
Height 5’4”
Weight 150lbs
Owner: CrossFit ATM
I met Dutch for the first time at the Level 1 CrossFit cert held at GSX Athletics in Fort Worth, TX. Dutch is a tough, dedicated athlete as evidenced by the following benchmarks:
Fran: 2:30
Elizabeth: 6:38
Grace: 5:00
FGB: 452
Total: 875
Snatch: 182
Clean: 245
C&J: 235
Cindy: 34 rounds
Mary: 14 rounds
Helen: 9:02 (450m run)
500m row: 1:37 2000m row: 7:21
I had the good fortune of hanging out with Dutch at this event and we were able to work some OL’s and talk a bit about nutrition. Dutch sounded pretty dialed in on his eating but like all top competitors he was looking for any edge that might be gained from his nutrition. He was also trying to fix a mid afternoon energy slump that felt like low blood sugar. I had Dutch keep track of his food and email that to me…good, bad and ugly. Here is that first email
“I am pretty uniform in my eating. I am strict zone with anywhere between 4 and 9x’s the fat per meal. I am currently eating lots of fruits (oranges, apples, pears, peaches) as my carbs but have no connection to them.
A typical day looks like this: (Not too much variety between days)
6AM 2 blocks:
1 apple (medium gala)
Half cup of cottage cheese (lactaid brand, I am lactose intolerant)
Handful of almonds. About 27 (9 blocks)
9AM 2 Blocks:
2 oz deli turkey
1 orange (large navel)
Handful of cashews. About 21 (7 blocks)
10:30AM 2 Blocks
2 oz deli turkey
1 apple (gala Medium sized)
Handful of almonds. Between 15 and 25. (sorry I haven’t counted nuts
since I started the zone over a year ago)
1:45 PM 2 blocks
2 oz deli turkey
1 orange (large navel)
Handful almonds
2:45 PM 2 blocks
Half cup Cottage cheese
1 pear with peanut butter. (There is no telling how much PB I
use… I just sit down with a spoon and a knife. Probably a quarter of the
container.)
5 PM 2 blocks
2 oz deli turkey or ham
1 apple
Handful of cashews or almonds
8PM 4-5 Blocks (usually closer to 4)
4 Oz Chicken breast
Assorted steamed veggies ( 3-4 cups)
Sprinkled with italian dressing or EVOO and maybe some crushed
almonds.
About a cup and a half of soy milk.
9:30 – 10 PM 1 Block
Half an apple
1 oz of turkey
Half handful of almonds
My Crossfit workouts have been great. I make it through even the 20 minute plus sessions with little trouble. I am a handball player as well and play three days a week at 3PM. I have been having some trouble with what feels
like blood sugar. I get half way through the first game and become lethargic, light headed, slow. My concentration then goes out the window. I usually eat 2 blocks about 15 -20 minutes before playing. It is hard to get Crossfit workouts into days where I play just from a time standpoint. I am working from 6-9 and then go straight to school till 3 then to the courts to play handball. I have to be back here for work at 5:15 till about 8. I am going to try to fit training in between classes MWF. T TH I only have one class so I am going to train hard those days.”
A few things bear mentioning: This is a blistering schedule which includes school, work, CrossFit and a competitive sport. Dutch manages to navigate all of this and prioritize his food. Not an easy thing to do but it’s critical if one is to not only survive this schedule to say nothing of thrive! His performance is great but he mentions some blood sugar related foggy-headedness later in the day, particularly during handball. The Zone is by no means a high carb diet but I have noticed some people (myself included) run into blood sugar issues with the Zone if it is approached as prescribed. It can be too many carbs, too often. Sleep can and does play a major factor in blood sugar management so here is my response to Dutch:
”Looks great...how much do you weigh? Looks like you are running about
17-18 blocks, good body comp and kicking performance. Two main issues
are controlling blood sugar during handball and (as always) recovery.
Something I have found to be helpful is repartitioning up to 1/2 of ones
carb blocks to the post workout meal. Let’s say you are 18 blocks, that
would put you at say 4-5 blocks of protein and 8-10 blocks of carbs. I
would make those carbs come from mainly yam or sweet potato to optimize
muscle glycogen repletion and not top off the liver too much. You can
then puff up the fat content of other meals to finish out the day on
average where you are right now. We should see improved recovery and
less blood sugar swings. If you are doing a double day you can split
that carb feeding to both post CF and post handball. If the CF WOD is
just strength work like a back squat-1111111, I would just spread the
carbs as normal.
I find there is a fine line with the Zone and CF. One needs enough carbs
to perform at a high level yet it is almost enough to mess with blood
sugar. The small snack you are taking prior to handball seems like a
good idea. Keep cranking on that and see if this other tweak helps
things at all. ALSO!!! Sleep can be a huge factor in blood sugar swings.
Sounds like you are keeping a blistering schedule and if the sleep is
skinny that can really mess with blood sugar levels...how much rack time are
you getting?”
Dutch was not getting much sleep but that’s not surprising considering the schedule he is keeping. I admonished him to get as much sleep as he could without getting fired from his job or dumped by his girlfriend! He expressed some trepidation about saving the lions share of his carbohydrates till post workout but he jumped in and did it and noticed improved energy and recovery immediately. Here is an email from a few weeks later:
”Robb,
I am sitting on a bus on my way back from Springfield MO. I was at the national collegiate handball tournament where I finished in the top 16. As with anytime you lose I feel like I should have won. That is not the point of this email though. Even though it was difficult I was able to keep with the nutrition plan you suggested. I kept carbs low until I competed then would get a couple extra carb blocks with my next meal. I felt great (besides losing). I was worried about the crash coming halfway through a game and it never happened.
I am having a hard time during a normal week getting the bigger meal after training cause I am usually pressed for time and sweet potatoes don’t travel very well. If you have any suggestions of what I can fit into a backpack and drag to school I would appreciate them.
I am also starting to dabble in the kitchen and wonder if you have any good links for recipes you use. I luckily haven’t burned down my house yet which would be bad for business, since the gym is in my garage.”
I think it’s safe to say Dutch has enviable numbers whether we are talking max effort strength work or classic CrossFit WOD’s like Fran. He is also nationally competitive in handball and like I mentioned before, he keeps a hell of a schedule. His food was pretty squared away in that he was using Zone ratios while choosing higher quality foods ala-paleo eating. The only glaring hole in the game I could see was a lack of sleep that is nearly impossible to fix given the demands of his schedule. A minor tweak we made to his eating was the repartitioning of about ½ of his carb blocks to the post workout meal to take advantage of enhanced insulin sensitivity. This improved his recovery from both CrossFit efforts and hand ball while normalizing his blood sugar and thus preventing the bonks he was experiencing mid-afternoon.
It’s important to note we did not run with shakes or other magic potions. Digestion, recovery and insulin control have been uniformly inferior with liquid food as compared with things like yams and sweet potatoes. A few recent studies have confirmed this observation and I’ll talk about those in a later CFJ article. Stay tuned for that and the next installment of Feeding The Machine!
Awesome post, Robb. Extremely interested in hearing more about PWO nutrition/insulin levels.
Couple of quick questions (which I’m sure fit into the “Godamn, I should make a FAQ” category), as far as Paleo goes, I’m assuming in your opinion it’s fine to include yams/sweet potatoes PWO for an active athlete? Do you not advise PWO shakes?
Hey Mike!
Yams and sweet potatoes rock. I’m not a huge fan of PWO shakes…tinker with them if you want but I find they get people FAT. Pedro Bastos forwarded a study to me that compared breakfast cereal and a shake as PWO nutrition (not the best in either case but both had similar protein and high glycemic index carbs). The cereal worked better to replenish glycogen and reverse catabolism than did the shake…I’ll try to track it down but you might google on that topic.
Great insight into the motivations and feeding routines of the CF elite. Thanks for sharing.
WOW!!
That guy was really locked on.
Thanks again Rob.
I am thinking late august still as my arrival time. I am willing to help with anything you need. I’ll let you know when i decided on a date for sure.
Right on dutch! Looking forward to the visit!
WOW, fantastic first article! As an aspiring Games competitor, it’s enlightening to see the way these guys train and fuel. Thanks Robb!
Robb…i have been toying with IF for a couple of days…i haven’t had any unbearable cravings yet, but was wondering how dialed into Paleo does an attempt at IF have to be. I don’t have much of a problem staying away from grains, but I do like dairy…For example, when I first ate today, after a 15 hour fast, I had a few ounces of deli turkey, 3 or 4 handfuls of almonds, a small glass of milk, 4 fish oil capsules, and several strawberries sliced up and mixed with a few ounces of cottage cheese…does the dairy cause an too much of an unwanted spike in insulin for a real go at IF or am I concerned about nothing?…Thanks.
I think that is fine and like all this stuff, you just need to tinker and see if the protocol works for YOUR goals.
Keep me posted on your progress.
Great writeup. Can’t wait to read others on some of the other CF’ers.
As for the shakes, very interesting. I recently bought one of the Atkins shake packs. It seems like a good ‘snack’ for midmorning or around 3pm.
But I look forward to your discussion on the shakes.
I think one just needs to tinker with those. Most find they set up blood sugar high’s and low’s…not sure that they end up being worthwhile.
Thanks for the study, I’m always looking for different ways of tweaking and modifying the way I fuel my body… Your site always makes me smarter! Thanks, Marcus Gafford
Robb-
I think I’m bonking, esp. after reading about Dutch. I occasionaly get light headed upon standing, and/or feel ‘weak’ or shaky both before and during my 6AM WOD’s, of which I have a 1B snack prior to…most days the 1B snack is fine and I make it thru the WOD no problem, but some, I feel like I haven’t eaten at all- no stamina! If I add carbs to my post WOD meal, which you have already Rx’d to me,(have tried briefly but was getting hungry btw. the other 4B meals, felt like I was really skimping the rest of the day- so, post WOD is currently still 4-3-7)…do I keep the fat during those other meals still at 7B, or do I bump the fats up to compensate calorically for the carbs missing from those meals? BTW, I currently have no sweet potatoes in my diet which sucks, but trying to keep the carbs low GI; the 4-3-7 post WOD was working OK, but I am now starting to feel a little pressed making it to lunch. Post WOD carbs are steel cut oats. My underlying issue here is that I am scared to bump fat up and/or do not know when it’s TIME to bump the fats up…I am currently 15-12-24/day. Thank you AGAIN for your time, hope I don’t sound too much like a titty-baby here.
Hey Sarah-
You definitely need to up the fat to compensate for the missing carbs…have you read the 42 ways to skin the Zone article from the PM? Give that a read and it should clarify things a bit. The low GI carbs are great but one can spend HOURS/day eating…tough to do. Putting the carbs into the PWO meal can fix some of this as can simply deleting carbs and adding fat as per the article. Looks like I need to have a flow chart thingy in the FAQ covering this as it’s a common theme!
Robb – that’s very exciting posts!
I’ve been on 35 blocks religiously for the last several weeks as you suggested only having 3 cheat meals spread over the weekend.
My weight is up to 231 as of this morning from 217 on June 1st. Strength is going up, metcon somewhat too – bodyweight stuff getting a bit harder.
I had a question on fat –
for the last 3 weeks I’ve been swapping 10-15 blocks of carbs with 3x Fat for each carb block.
Do I count 1.5 gram of fat as a block or 3 grams?
I’ve been doing 3 grams/block.
And what’s your opinion on CreamCheese as far as fat substitute?
I found that it’s something that I don’t really get sick or bored of. Been eating a bunch of it with my sweet potatoes, cucumbers and peppers.
80 blocks of fat a day is no joke.
One thing I’ve noticed with swapping fat – just like you mentioned to Dutch – my energy has been more consistant, since I eat my yams and veggies after training for lunch.
I’ve been on 35 blocks religiously for the last several weeks as you suggested only having 3 cheat meals spread over the weekend.
My weight is up to 231 as of this morning from 217 on June 1st. Strength is going up, metcon somewhat too – bodyweight stuff getting a bit harder.
I had a question on fat –
for the last 3 weeks I’ve been swapping 10-15 blocks of carbs with 3x Fat for each carb block.
Do I count 1.5 gram of fat as a block or 3 grams?
I’ve been doing 3 grams/block.
Leo!!
I usually use the 1.5g of fat in that scenario! You are defenitely getting enough grub! I think the cheese/cream is fine…at this point it’s get it down the hatch and that can be hard as hell. Once you stabilize the weight we can lean you out an bit and the BW stuff will catch up. Great work amigo!
Regarding the energy: The Zone is TOO MANY carbs too often for many people. Some simple tweaks can fix that however.
I have been slicing my yams/sweet potatoes (buy organic and use those skins too)–topping w/ some coconut oil, curry, salt, garlic and onion powder, cumin–pretty much whatever and baking them for about 45min in a hot oven! The slices travel quite well and I am not concerned if they are out if the fridge for a few hours even in NY (and its hot here). I think I like em better room temp or cold the next day!
Interesting post 🙂
It’s inspiring to see Dutch’s times and see how diligent he is with food and training despite everything he has on…
I’ve been CrossFitting for a while now, and am eating pseudo-Zone – got breakfast and snacks down pat, but haven’t been strict enough to work out lunches and dinners yet.
Reading posts like this pumps me up to go strict Zone, get to bed early and train harder.
Look forward to the next post.
Robb,
I’m currently reading Dr. Cordain’s book and notice the many ref’s to blood glucose levels and the ability to decrease spikes when going Paleo. Can you suggest other readings on the relationship of Paleo v. Type 2 Diabetes and what benefits may be realized?
Congrats on the new first Nutrition Cert, sounds like a roaring success. RP
RP-
Protein Power:Life Plan is absolutely phenomenal. This is a great article on how on CAN run without any carb intake:
http://www.nutritionandmetabolism.com/content/1/1/2
Hey Robb! This is fabulous! I love the real life example you are showing with your suggestions, then the changes that happened as a result of your suggestions. You’re amazing with this stuff. As a recent Zone convert, (thanks to you) I feel GREAT! I’m loving all the data and your expertise!
Keep up the great work!!
Sande Collins
Hey Sande!
All the credit goes to you and folks like you who will just give this wacky stuff a shot. It’s amazing what our bodies can do when we feed and water it the way it needs!
Very nice write-up. Thanks for sharing.
Rob, great post, always good to take a peak behind the scenes with these great competitors.
I wanted to second Sarena’s sliced yams recipe, that’s exactly what I used to do. Makes it very easy to cook up a bunch, then divy up into measured containers.
As an aside, I wished I’d listened to you a while back on the “Zone has too many carbs” point. I slaved away on strict 18 block zone for months. Lost a little weight, saw performance improve somewhat, but was still heavy (6’1, 215, approx 14-16 BF%).
I’m actually doing Atkins Induction right now just because I finished “Good Calories, Bad Calories” by Taubes and decided to give it a try since Zone wasn’t working for me.
I’m down 7 pounds in 10 days to 208. What’s weird is that my performance really hasn’t suffered much at all. I party chalk this up to substituting a minimum of one Oly Lift WOD per week.
I sent my experience to Max Lewin, CF Eastbay. He’s got a great blog (crossfitzonediet.blogspot.com) that I’ve been following for a while and he seemed to be having the same issues I was, doing Zone, not losing BF. So he gave it a try as well and had a big decrease in BF% but also a decrease in performance.
Sorry for the long post, but wanted to let folks know about me and Max’s experience. I’m going to go buy “42 Ways” rigt now.
Brian-
I’m going to do a front page post on this.
Oh! Forgot to post this link:
http://www.nutritionandmetabolism.com/content/1/1/2
Max found this and posted it on his blog, I thought it was an interesting study looking at performance while in ketosis (very low carb intake).
Great link…I think i threw that up on the ketosis piece I did about a year ago.
Hey Robb,
Your posts are great, can’t wait for your book!
I read “42 ways to skin the zone” and I had a question about the skinny guy who is trying to get heeeeyyyuugge. I am about to embark on this journey, and you say that once every seven days to go back to base zone at the original (16 blocks in the article) base zone. Does this also mean go back to 1XFat or should I stay at 5X for that day also?
Thanks Robb!
Stone-
Yep, take that to 1x fat and you can play with going either to the 16 block level or just base Zone…say you have worked your way up to 22 blocks @ 5x fat, you could also just go to 22blocks, 1x fat. Play with both and wee how you feel. It is interesting, the cal restricted day does seem to help digestion and energy level. Wacky stuff.
Hi Rob,
Let me know if you want any information for your front page post about my recent Atkins experience. Mostly it’s on my blog http://crossfitzonediet.blogspot.com/
After doing this (and reading Good Calories, Bad Calories, one of, if not THE, most amazing book(s) I have ever read)I have settled on a “Zone-Like” diet as follows:
18 Matched protein carb blocks (7/7)
Whatever X fat
Carbs not to exceed 130 g per day
Low GI sources only
Example is here:
http://crossfitzonediet.blogspot.com/2008/02/stellar-4-blocker-via-trader-joes.html
I regret not coming to your nutrition seminar, Connie M told me it was great, and I’m an admirer of yours. I do some nutritional consultation, and following your lead, I don’t work with vegans. I did not quite have the balls to say I would not work with veggies at all.
Maximus!
Looks good, write up your plan to date and lets do a post on it. It mirrors what I’ve seen in a lot of people: Zone is too many carbs too often. On the Vegetarina thing…I did make a “Chip Conrad Addendum” to the vegetarian thing…I need to get that uploaded as an update to the old shopping guide thingy. If the individual agrees to be gluten free AND get adequate protein (via whatever source) then I’ll work with them. Someone need to help those people I guess…other vegetarins are certainly not going to affect the necessary changes.
So basically I was doing something like
35p/20c/160f? No wonder the weight gain is fast and steady.
I’ll be trying the 1.5 g and see what happens. If my weight gain will stall I’ll bump it to 40 blocks @ 1.5g per fat block to average around 40/20/100.
Monique is figuring out the details and we’ll be signing up for Oct 4th in Ft. Worth Nutrition cert.
That’s going to be good times!
Awesome! Keep me posted on how the 1.5 tweak changes things. Looking forward to seeing you guys at Tuckers place!!
Not to mention Dutch spent about 2 days setting up events at the CF Games site prior to competing. The guy is a workhorse.
Robb, great stuff you’ve been posting lately – inspires me to get my act together!
Anthony-
Little does Dutch know but once he is in Chico we are going to drum up some spurious charges to force him to stay here. We will have some kind of Lo-Jack on his ankle to know when he is trying to sneak off the compound. Then we will figure out what makes him “tick”. Then…maybe, I will not suck at this stuff once I can steal his secrets!
Inspire you! Sorry man, it’s the other way around. You have set the bar WAY high. I talked to Rip yesterday. I told him Kelly Starrett guilted me into doing next years games. Rip wants me at 185 lbs for that gig…I it’s eat and lift like Anthony to be like Anthony! Looks like I may be in Calgary Sept 13…not sure if you guys will be in the vicinity but it’d be good to catch up.
Hey Robb,
I’ve been interchanging EF and Crossfit for about a year now, and since I really hate weighing and measuring (my gf and I would actually get pissy with each other while we tried the strict zone), I’ve been trying to liberally use oils and nuts and save most of my dense carbs 1 or 2 hours post workout (don’t want to quell the GH response). I wanted to get back on the crossfit wagon however, would you reccomend I tweak my current EF diet to compensate? I realized that Art doesn’t really eat that much, then again, his power law training doesn’t leave me gasping for air, like say…..Fran?
Roelant-
I’d try what you have been doing and go from there. The CF stuff is generally WAY more volume than the standard EF workout. FRan, Diane, Grace or the wod’s that take less than 5 min might be exceptions. Just play with that and if need be, add in more carbs to allow for better training. It’s summer! Kick your heels up!
Afraid we won’t be able to make Calgary (3 time zones away), but I’m definitely looking forward to seeing you compete next year!
Bummer. Well, hopefully we can see you guys before next year. If my training does not get more consistent It’s going to be a VERY ugly games for me next year.
Hey Robb,
I have been following the zone for a while now and its been working for me, except for the fact that I cant find a way to get any bigger using it. I am a pretty skinny guy (5’9″ and only 130 lbs) and I think I am one of those people for whom the Athletes Zone will not work because my body doesnt handle 5x fat well. Im pretty sure it results in steatorhea, which is not the most enjoyable thing in the world.
I am currently eating 18 blocks a day, with three 4 block meals and two 3 block snacks with 2x fat in the snacks only. My carbs consist of mostly fruit but with veggies in at least one meal every day. The fat ive been eating is mostly almonds and some avocado.
Do you have any suggestions to help me gain some more mass without adding to much fat to my meals?
thanks in advance
Chris-
Folks do tend to adapt to increased levels of fat in the diet over time but that does vary from person to person…with that in mind here’s a few potential approaches:
1-add digestive enzymes to very meal. Make sure these have betaine HCL, lipases, and proteases. Almost any good company will have one like this but Now foods has one called “Super Enzymes” and it kicks ass. Inexpensive and great quality. Start with 1 per meal, slowly increase the number you take with a meal…likely in the 2-3 caps for a large meal area you will feel “warm” in the stomach. That’s your dose for that size and composition of meal. Snacks may only require 1 cap. This should improve your digestion and absorption and you can play with slowly increasing fat in the meals. Add like 1 block per meal/week and see how it goes.
2-Do not consume liquids immediately before, during or after a meal. None with the exception of perhaps some espresso or a small amount of strong coffee. Both stimulate digestion. Fluids generally dilute digestive enzymes so keep the fluid intake to between meals.
3-Chew the shit out of your meals. Gandhi said something like “Drink your meals and chew your drinks…” referring to the need for sufficient chewing for proper digestion. Chewing, not surprisingly, stimulate the release of our digestive enzymes and mechanically increases the surface area of food, making it easier to absorb.
You may still need to add a bit more carb than fat to make significant gains but this should help. I almost forgot: Go gluten free. Gluten can wreak havoc on the digestion and may cock-block all efforts to improve digestion.
Keep me posted.
Dutch might want to get a polysomnogram to see if the quality of his sleep could be inhanced in lieu of lengthening its duration.
Robb, I noticed that you recommended yams and sweet potatoes, but in the Paleo Diet book Dr. Cordain has this on the “foods to avoid list”. Keep in mind I myself need to lose about 20.
Dan!!
They are a good option for folks that need a dense carb source for post WO recovery. If you are still trying to lean out you might go easy on those and stick more with veggies.