I can’t believe we are done with our first ever Paleo Challenge. The past 5-6 weeks have been awesome. I have seen so many improvements in all of the people who stuck with their diet. It takes will power and perseverance to be able to say no to some of your past favorite foods. Some of you did not stay strict Paleo, but still made huge changes in your diet. From the looks of it, those changes paid huge dividends on your met-con and strength as well.
I can’t believe how much some of you improved. This was very difficult to find two clear cut winners. We had one male winner and one female winner. As cliche as it sounds all of you who stuck to the challenge even 70% of the time are still winners in my eyes. It is very difficult to give things up in life, but it will help your health and well being in the long run. Not to mention you will become a beast in the gym.
Our five week Paleo Challenge consisted of a workout at the start of the five weeks, and the same workout to finish the challenge. For those who do not know our workout consisted of two portions (a strength test, and a met-con test). Our strength test was max pull-ups. If you used a band you were to write down what band you used, to then use that same band or less at the end. Our conditioning WOD was to start off with a 500 m. row. Then go right into 3 rounds of: 10 push-ups, 10 sit-ups, 10 box jumps (24″/20″), and 10 ring rows, finishing with one 400 m. run! Participants were to also keep a journal of everything they ate during the five weeks. And lastly, they took before and after pictures.
After long hours of studying peoples workout results, pictures and journals I finally came up with two people that stuck out in my eyes more than the rest. Our male winner was Tom Mickey! And our female winner was Becky Lesniewski. Although I picked two winners, you should all be so proud of your hard work. And your numbers in the gym and your pictures are to prove. You all did great and I am proud to be your coach!!!
Tom Mickey worked his a** off during this Paleo Challenge. I know this first hand because he is my brother, but everyone who knows him knows that he put 100% effort into this challenge. Tom travels a lot, and all of us know how hard it is to stick to our diets when we are on the road, but he did. He made paleo kits and took them with him. He also did workouts in his room and at another CrossFit while in Missouri. Not to mention he was one person who barely drank any alcohol during the five weeks. At the start of the challenge Tom did 21 unbroken pull-ups, and at the end of the challenge he did 31 unbroken pull-ups. At the start of the challenge Tom’s time on the Met-Con was 8:36. And at the end of the challenge his time was 7:39.
I could write for days about how proud I am of Becky, but I will not. The girls was a much tighter race. I had such a hard time picking a winner, but after long hours of studying their journals, workout results and pictures Becky stood out in my eyes. Becky went above and beyond in her journal. She wrote down the exact time she ate in the day for every meal and snack. She also wrote a paragraph at the bottom of her page on how she felt that day and what she was doing. Her numbers speak for themselves as well. At the start of the challenge Becky did 14 pull-ups with two bands (our purple and red band). At the end of the challenge Becky only used one band (purple) and did 17 pull-ups. She shaved an amazing two plus minutes of her met-con time. At the start of the challenge her time was 12:13, and at the end of the challenge her time was 10:02. Becky also was not close to climbing a rope before the challenge and she and Rosette each climbed a rope near the end of the challenge. She attended a minimum 3 classes per week, and most weeks she came 4 times. Once again I am so proud of everyone! You all showed me you could do anything you put your mind to. I hope that you all enjoyed the challenge and stick with eating Paleo. It is for the best of your health. Great work!
