The Iron Pineapple Points System

This is a brand new pair of lululemon shorts.

Blue camo heaven

It is my very first pair of lululemon shorts (and the most expensive workout shorts I've ever bought by about $50). In fact, I'm still slightly in disbelief at the cost of them but everyone at the gym swears they're the most amazing thing since sliced bread (shhh...it's cool, bread, I still love you even though I can't eat you very often).

$68 after taxes. $68!!!! Holy moly.

Shocking, right?

Is it a necessary expense? Nope.

Is it a wise way to spend your money? Probably not (but then again, neither are $7 deep fried twinkies at the fair).

But, are they a bad@$$-looking pair of shorts? Heck yeah. Which brings me to my next point...

A couple years ago when I was just getting started with CrossFit, I came up with a points system because there was a gym hoodie that I really wanted but didn't need to buy (I have plenty of perfectly good jackets/hoodies) and I wanted to at least make it count somehow. The basic concept was that each time got a PR on a lift, or did at workout Rx (as prescribed, which just means it's usually extra heavy/difficult), I would allot myself one point. I bought the hoodie and kept it on my dresser so I would see it every morning as I got ready, and had a points tally going on my chalkboard wall.

The basic rules of the points system are as follows:

1. Buy the item you want (but don't need) while it is available. You can pre-wash the item (if applicable), try it on to make sure it fits, check for any defects, but you cannot actually wear the item.
2. Take the whole number cost of the item and turn it into points. 1 point for every dollar.
3. Once you've accumulated enough points to equal the value of the item, it's all yours.

Wearing that hoodie for the first time like a boss...or a total goober. Whatevs.

I've done this for a few items now (e.g. the hoodie, a new gym tshirt) and was about to implement it for the most expensive workout shorts ever, but realized that while my point system accounted for exercise, it did not include anything about nutrition.

And as I've learned this year, nutrition is CRAZY IMPORTANT if you ever want to see your abs or master a named workout (the two are related...go figure). In fact, nutrition has been my downfall toward the end of each year where I eat my weight in candy, cake, fried foods, and cookies several times over.

mmm...donuts.

So this time, I am expanding my points system to include nutrition points as well as exercise points.

Here's a detailed breakdown on how to acquire or lose points (new and improved):

Exercise points:

1. +1 point every time you hit a PR on a lift, or a time. 
• Examples: 5lb PR on a squat, or let's say you ran a 5K and shaved 30 seconds off your time, each of these would be +1 point.
2. +1 point when you do a workout Rx (as prescribed).
3. +1 point when you achieve a new, difficult skill for the first time. 
• Examples: Get your first muscle up, hand stand push up, strict ring dip, etc.
4. +2 points for completing a "hero WOD"
5. +0.1 points for each movement you complete as extra work after the prescribed workout of the day. Note: these sets should not be easy. Each bulleted item on the list counts as 1 movement and gets you a total of 0.1, not 0.1 for each set.
• November movements (updated 11/18/14):
• 6 x 5 strict pull ups (scale: start with a band you can do 5-10 with easily and work your way down bands until you're doing them without bands)
• 6 x 10 push ups followed by a wall walk.
• 6 x 5 ring dips (use same scale as strict pull ups).
• 6 x 20-second hand stand holds.
• 4 x 50' lunge walks - 85lbs if overhead, 95lbs front rack loaded.
• 4 x 50 double unders, unbroken sets.
• 4 x 15 kettlebell swings - 70lbs
• 100 sit ups, 4 x 10 GHD sit ups, or 50 toes to bar.
• Bench press progression.
• 5 "floppy dead fish" (aka butterfly kip pull ups that may not be high enough yet) for as long as possible while maintaining good momentum.
• Max number of kipping HSPUs
• 1000m row at 2:00 average pace or less.

Nutrition points (here's where things get tricky, updated 11/18/14):

1. +1 point for every day where you eat clean. 
• This is defined by the individual person. For me, it means generally abiding by zone diet 16-block plan in terms of portions and number of meals/snacks.
2. -0.25 point every time you cheat. Eating junk food is not a neutral thing for your body and affects your performance and health, so cheating should also have its penalties. 
• Banned or restricted items:
• Soda/beer/artificially sweetened beverages (per can)
• Candy (per item, regardless of size)
• Chips, crackers, or pretzels beyond 1 per week (per single serving)
• Fried foods (per meal)
• Desserts beyond 1 instance per week (donuts, cake, pie, etc)
• Anything with mayonnaise or cream cheese in it (because it is essentially all fat and extremely calorically dense).

Obviously, this does not mean I can't have any items on the cheat list. It just means that there's a tangible, measurable cost to my nutritional decisions day-to-day and will be one more point keeping me away from my reward. Hopefully, these additions to the point system to incorporate nutrition will make me think twice about having that piece of candy, or slice of cake at the office and be more motivated to go hard at the gym even as the weather turns cold and lame.