SPARTAN PERFORMANCE                                  CROSSFIT SUFFOLK

Take 12 minutes to establish 1 rep max Press

–then–
21-15-9
Thrusters @ 60% of Press 1 rep max

Weighted Sit-ups (25/15#)

200m run after each set

Afew months back we told you about Sal and the incredible progress he made here at CrossFit Suffolk.  Well, Sal is back in the news, by popular demand.  Since Sal is always one of the top athletes, yet one of the oldest members, the younger folk want to know the "behind the scene" story.

Let's recap:  Here's Sal roughly 6 weeks after CrossFitting.  He was already beginning his transformation at this point.

This was Sal yesterday!

Sal's weighed 220 lbs. when he started training with us.  He's down to 190 lbs. now and that includes the muscle-increase weight he's put on!  He's lost about 6 inches off his waist.  While all his lifts have increased significantly it's some of the other exercises that aren't usually asked about that Sal is most satisfied about.  When most other athletes were running 400 meters for workouts Sal was struggling to run 200 meters.  400 meters was very difficult and 800 meters was out of the question.  When he finally was conditioned enough to run a mile he did it in a very respectable 8:25.  Last week Sal ran a mile in 6:45!  Sal went from not being able to do a rope climb at all to doing it without the use of his legs.  Sal went from having to break up sets of exercise often to performing most sets unbroken.  Sal is most happy about how he feels during his day to day activities and being pain free.  

We asked Sal about his diet: "I Paleo strictly most of the time.  I eat breakfast, lunch and dinner and at night i have a snack.  My breakfast often consists of eggs and spinach.  For lunch and dinner I have various things like Paleo chilli, and pork loin-apples-sauerkraut.  I have olive oil everyday.   I don't count calories.  For a snack I eat cashews or fruit.  Cashews are a big part of my diet, they prevent me from snacking on junk."

We asked Sal about supplements:  "I use Isopure mixed with water and either grapes or a banana or almond butter.  I use Muscle Tech Creatine, Purple Wraath for aminos, ZMA, fish oil and Vitamin D3 (6000 IU in the summer 8000 IU in the fall and winter)."  {Note:  We are not endorsing or recommending any of these products, though we have no issue with any of them.  We are merely reporting on what one athlete in our box uses.  We advise individuals to do their own research and see what works for you should you decide to use supplements.  Those looking to learm more about supplements would do well to speak to Dan S.–he owns a health food eatery, Supreme Blends (East Islip), that sells all the supplements named above.  Read further down for more info!}

Sal CrossFits  consistently 5-6 days a week.  He is rarely in the gym longer than 50 minutes.  Sal comes in, warm up, does his skill/strength work and gets right to the workout.  A few minutes after Sal finishes his post-workout mobility/stretching he is out the door to take care of his other responsibilities.  Oh did i mention Sal and his father own Luchese's Pizzeria.

Imagine the discipline to not eat pizza while standing in a pizzeria kitchen…everyday….for hours!  Sal will continue to improve his performance in the gym.  The same discipline to not eat pizza in your own restaurant and to get into the box every morning carries over to everything else you do.  Sal continues to influence those around him.  Sal's father recently decided to eat the Paleo way! 

Great job Sal!

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As mentioned above, those looking for a great, healthy place to eat or get supplements such as protein powder, creatine, aminos, recovery supplements–we have an in-house authority–Dan S.  Dan usually can be found during the 5pm session at the box.  Even better–visit him at his store, Supreme Blends in East Islip.  Dan and his stafff are very knowledgeable about the various supplements on the market and they get a ton of feedback from their customers about how the supplements work or what works better than others.  Check it out and mention that you train at Spartan Performance/CrossFit Suffolk!

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Not to be outdone by his younger brother, Steve L. destroyed yesterday's WOD, doing it as prescribed beating everyone substantially, including his brother.  Steve did yesterday's WOD in 8:38!  Great work Steve!

Top 10 Moments Of The 2012 Reebok CrossFit Games