Restoration Methods For Athletes and Fitness Enthusiasts

I'll start off putting it simply - you must train hard and recover even harder! I work with a variety of athletes and clients and one of the main culprits to their success is their ability to recover from a previous training session. Here are some healthy ways to help your body recover and restore your muscles.

Food: When you're done training, you need to eat a protein source to build muscle. Muscles are made up proteins, and without consuming any protein quickly (in the first 45 minutes after the training session - the earlier the better), muscles won't grow.

On top of that, eating quality meals with a protein source, carbohydrate, and additional vegetables will help your body feel better after training. Here are some suggestions of foods and drinks to aid recovery.

Pineapple and Papaya
Good for: Muscle recovery

Salmon or Fish Oil Supplement
Good for: Cardiovascular fitness

PB&J or Pasta with Meat Sauce
Good for: Muscle building and repair

8 ounces of Chocolate Milk
Good for: Hydration after workout
Why? Milk has more electrolytes and potassium. The addition of chocolate gives the perfect balance of carbohydrate, protein, and fat for a speedy muscle recovery.

Coffee
Good for: Minimizes muscle soreness after workout

Cold Water
Good for: Endurance

Green Tea
Good for: Muscle recovery

Self-myofasical release: This includes foam rolling, Theracane, the Stick, or any other massage tool. When a muscle stretches near the point of injury, the Golgi tendon organ (GTO) tells the muscle spindles to relax. Foam rolling stimulates the muscle and works the GTO so the athlete can work in a more complete range of motion without the muscles shutting down.

Contrast showers and baths (Cold and Hot): Contrasting relaxes and excites the muscles, moves blood through, and shorten the restoration time.

Warm up, stretch, and relax: I recommend performing a dynamic warm up before doing your workout as this increases your core body temperature, excites the nervous system and allows your body to increase its range of motion. Save the stretching routine for after the workout to further aid recovery.

Hydrate: Keep it simple, always have a bottle of water near by during workout sessions and drink when thirsty. Drinking on your rest days will help push toxins out and keep the muscles loose.

Relax (sleep): Recovery requires relaxing. Take Nike's advice and "Just Do It!" Enough said.

To summarize, if you implement these recovery and restoration methods, you will feel better and more importantly you can train harder! To maximize your chances of obtaining your goal you must work hard and recover hard, otherwise you're just spinning your wheels.

Workout of the Week

"Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will." Mahatma Gandhi

For time:
100 Squat Thrust

Variation 1, squat, hop into push up position, hop the feet to chest and stand up then repeat.

Variation 2, squat, hands to the floor and do a push up then hop feet to chest and stand up. Repeat.

Feel free to post your time in the comments section.

Happy Holidays!!

WOW (Workout of the Week)

Run 800 yards or meters (on treadmill its 0.50 miles)
21 Dips
21 Hanging Knees Raises
9 Dips
9 Dips
Run 800 yards or meters

For Time.
Feel free to post it in comments section.

7 Simple Steps To Get Lean And Healthy

I didn't originally write this but wanted to share it with everyone. It was written by Paul D' Arcy of www.Sportfit.com.

Step 1: Eliminate sugars and Simple Starches.
This should be a no-brainer, but unfortunately, it isn't. If you overweight or suffer from high blood pressure, unbalanced cholesterol, aches, pains and joint discomfort, well buddy, you have inflammation and should stay away from sugar or simple starches. Stay away from things like soda pop, sports drinks, fruit drinks, dried fruit, chewing gum, candy bars, cookies, chips, sauces, spreads and whatever candy you have been shoving down your throat.

Step 2: Eliminate grains from diet.
Rice, wheat, rye, corn, oats, barley and anything made with flour should be eliminated entirely. This includes pasta, breads, cereals, and yes even oatmeal. These agricultural products contain exogenous allergens and antigens that cause inflammation and allergic reactions in those intolerant to grains. You may or may not be intolerant of grains but if your fat and/ or suffering from inflammation, its best to assume your intolerant and eliminate grains altogether. You can gradually reintroduce grains and monitor your reactions at a later time after you have sorted out your body fat and inflammation issues.

Step 3: Eliminate dairy from diet.
If your like the vast majority of the population, you don't tolerate dairy very well. More over if your fat and suffer from inflammation you definitely don't need milk, cheese, yogurt or anything that squirts from the udders of a cow or goat. What about calcium? You can get calcium from fruits, vegetables, lean meats, poultry and seafood. Forget the diary, cows milk is for calves.

Step 4: Eliminate prepackaged foods.
Do not eat anything from a box, bag, a tube, a can or wrapper. Avoid eating anything that is processed, preserved or anything with a ingredient label. Sounds harsh? Too bad.

Step 5: Eat more lean protein.
Another no-brainer, we already know that right? But where are you getting it from. Hint- stop drinking your protein! Its making you fat! Liquid protein has enormously high glycemic load and insulin response compared to animal protein, and if your protein shake isn't after a hard and heavy training session its just making you fat. Knock it off! Get your protein from grass fed animals like steak, sirloin, lean ground beef and any wild game especially if you can get it without added hormone and antibiotics. The same goes for fish and crustaceans.

Step 6: Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables - a lot more!
Fruits and vegetables provide necessary vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fiber to support healthy immune function, avoid cancer, improve recovery, improve mental clarity and a lot of other things. Another added bonus its hard as hell to get fat eating them too. Nuff said.

Step 7: Drink more water.
I'm not going to waste a whole paragraph on this, if your drinking only 1 to 3 bottles or cups of water per day, add five more cups. Unless your drinking close to a gallon of water a day your not drinking enough. Water is a necessity not a luxury.

There you have it. Can you do it? Will you do it? May vitality and health be with you.

W.O.D

He who conquers others is strong; He who conquers himself is mighty. - Lao Tzu

For time complete the following exercises using this repetition scheme:
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

Speed ladder: High knees (one foot in each ring)
Pull/Chin-ups
Kettlebell/Dumbbell Clean and Press (women: 25lbs/men 36lbs)

Post time:

WOD

The is no such thing as "can't", only "won't". All it takes is a focused mind and a burning desire to accomplish, to make a change. Go forward - go backwards - go sideways. Whatever it takes! It's truly a waste of your valuable time to blame other people or society in general. Where you are right now all comes from your mind. Do something you "think" is impossible and you soon will realize just how powerful and special you are. - Asia

For time:
500 squats

Post time in comment section.

6 Reasons Why You Should Deadlift More

In the world of strength and bodybuilding the squat is believed to be the "King" of all exercises, the answer to increase muscle mass, strength and power. But who came to this conclusion and how did it come to be so widely excepted? I believe that although the squat is a excellent exercise in itself it doesn't hold its appeal when compared to a deadlift. I say this more out of practicality and real world usefulness. The more I think about it, the deadlift is probably the best exercise one can do for real world strength and fitness. Real world strength and power is generated from the ground up and very seldom the other way. What I want to do is share six reasons you should consider including the deadlift in your training regime and let you come to your own conclusion.


1. The Deadlift Works More Muscle

The deadlift works all major muscles of the lower body (hips, quads, hamstrings, calves and glutes), the core (abdominals, lower back, obliques), the upper back muscles (lats, traps), arms (biceps, triceps and forearms). The squat mainly targets the lower body.


2. Minimum equipment is needed

With the deadlift all you need is a bar, plates, some chalk or weightlifting belt. So its great if you have limited space. The squat, you need a power rack which when combined with things you need for a deadlift it can be crazy expensive.


3. Core Stability

Here the squat and deadlift can be very simliar so not much to discuss here.


4. Safety

Deadlift, you don't need a spotter, you can either lift it or you can't. With the squat, once you start to put up so real weight you have to have a spotter and we all know how hard they are to come by.

5. Grip Strength

Grip strength is a necessity both in sport and the real world setting. Have you ever hear someone say, "I'm strong enough to lift the weight but my grip gave out" or older people complain they cannot open a jar of jelly?


6. Real life application

As I said in my opening paragraph, in the real world,strength and power begin from the ground up. People are more likely to pick objects off the ground than to have it all ready place upon their back. This can be seen when a mother picks her child up from the ground and onto her hip to a weight lifter performing a clean and jerk.

WOD
Kettlebell (KB) or Dumbbell (DB) Overhead Squat 5x1
Men (53 lbs)/ Women (36 lbs)

For time:

100, 80, 60, 40, 20 reps of:

Jump Rope or Squat thruster

Sit-ups (your choice of sit-ups; no crunches)

Post your time in the comments section.