StrengthFitness and Performance:Back Squat, Pike and Straddle Leg Lifts, Turkish GetupWODThrustersRowMember News and Notes:
With the upcoming holiday season and wintery temps that makes you want to eat all the comfort foods in the world just around the corner, here's some helpful troubleshooting tips from Eattoperform.com!"The holidays can be a scary time if you’re trying to stay in shape. Whether it’s too much everything at Thanksgiving or the endless holiday parties around Christmas (Oh, and the alcohol, let’s not forget that), there are way too many opportunities to set yourself back if you don’t have a strategy.Before you start showing up to every event with a Tupperware container full of chicken and celery, let me give you some helpful advice.1. Ever notice how when you have time to prepare, the scale stays pretty manageable? I mean, your meals are ready, you get to the gym on time, and everything is going well. Then all of a sudden life happens; the in-laws show up from out of town and rather than being a stick in the mud, you indulge in the festivities…OK, you over indulge and put on a few pounds. End of the world, right? NOPE.Guess what – that extra weight isn’t fat! In fact, it’s mostly water that you’ll lose within a few days once you resume your regularly scheduled program. I am not a big fan of dieting over the holidays because there are way too many impromptu situations that can arise that result in a little bloat.To keep things under control, give some of these suggestions a shot:A. Work out before you indulge. In this situation, I would probably avoid your normal pre-workout protocol. Working out will prime your cells to look for fuel afterwards, which you will provide gladly. Moderation is the key though – enjoy yourself but act like you have been there before. If you find yourself surrounded by 24 Fun Size Snickers wrappers, or whipped cream and an empty pumpkin pie container with that look in your eyes like “What the hell just happened?” then you’ve gone too far.b. Work out the following day. With the exception of over-indulging on alcohol, most people find that when they pack away the food, the next day is usually a pretty good workout. Once again, no need to “fuel up” pre-workout like normal because that is essentially what you accomplished the day before. Just do what feels mostly right and then get back on track. Sometimes it might take a day or two for things to normalize.c. Keep carbs lower until things normalize. One of the basic principles of carb cycling is that you use periods where you have carbs to propel your energy level for great exercise. Feeling bloated and yucky obviously isn’t going to be optimal, so let’s flush away some of the yuck by eating mostly whole foods and buckling down for a day or two. By the way, the times where you’re a little bloated are great to lift heavy and normally you can expect to see some PR’s but I would like to see you focus on more rep work if that chance presents itself.Remember,“Eating to Perform” isn’t about eating irresponsibly – it’s about using the fuel that you are putting into your body. Just because the fuel isn’t “optimal” doesn’t mean it has no value.2. Feel free to avoid the punisher. What happens a lot around the Holiday’s is WOD’s like “Eva” or “Murph” end up being programmed. That’s fine and if you are feeling 100%, go for it, but oftentimes when you are using sub-standard fuel you won’t be feeling great. These are great days to run a 10k or have longer lifting sessions. Trying to punish yourself for a weekend of over indulgence is a bad idea. Do something but make sure over doing it the night before doesn’t lead to overuse issues, injuries, or being sick.3. Most people want to lose fat and build muscle but they are missing one key component. To build muscle, you need to spend some time eating a hypercaloric diet – you need to take in more energy than you expend. The holidays are a great time to take advantage of this because food is typically plentiful and eating is encouraged!Do some “bodybuilding” style workouts around this time of year to send your body a signal that building new tissue is an option. Even though the fuel might not be perfect, the body is pretty efficient at using all types of fuels. When it’s all said and done to build lean mass you need both of these things and an opportunity is staring you in the face.4. Lastly, avoid being diet guy/gal. Eating in moderation is always an option. Sticking to mostly meats and salads is perfectly doable in a lot of holiday situations, but don’t avoid parties because you’re afraid of going off your diet. Live life and enjoy it! If you are drinking, you want to opt for the most efficient dose to get the job done."