“Strike first, strike hard, no mercy!” -Kobra Kai Credo The Karate Kid
Week 7 is in our sights for our Adult Conditioning programs this week as we aim to make a pre-emptive strike on the Holidays by ramping up the intensity and dialing in the focus on training frequency and nutrition. With 6 left until the holidays we are at the point in the progression where the adaptations really start to become noticeable along with each individual’s ability to challenge themselves & push their limits further while at the same recovering more quickly.
We all know that, “the road to hell is paved with good intentions.” (I also agree with Steven King’s argument that it is “paved with adverbs” but that is for another discussion altogether). You can arm yourself with all of the best knowledge and information, set nutritional and lifestyle goals, sign up for 2-3 Twist sessions, a yoga class and a running group every week and be ready to take on the world but if you do not plan and prepare your nutrition and your workouts to match your day-to-day schedule, it is difficult to be successful. It is essential that you take the time at the end of each week to look ahead to what is coming at you next week, what your schedule demands are going to be and how you are going to be able to manage your family needs and your own individual needs efficiently.
Juggling the work week, school schedule and family sports and activities are a huge challenge. If you have an active sports family you may be working your second job all weekend as CEO of the Mom &Dad Taxi Co. and may actually have less time to take care of your own needs. As tempting and satisfying as a fast food drive-thru or meal from the concession at the rink can be, this is no way to reach your goals. And this brings up one of my essential nutrition tips: Nothing good comes from a convenience store. Slush Puppies, corn dogs and Snickers do not round out the Food Pyramid.
The key all of it is setting yourself up well from the beginning by shopping smartly, maximizing the healthy food that is available and minimizing (or hopefully eliminating) the bad food. Remember every choice you make either makes you more healthy or less healthy and only you are accountable to the decision you make.
Shopping
The simplest formula for successful shopping is to buy 90% of your food on the perimeter of the store (where the actual food is) and only filling in the gaps with stuff from the aisles. The aisles have all the high volume, high calorie, low nutrition processed crap that takes up perfectly good space in your body for actual food to do its job. Fill your grocery cart, your plate and your stomach with balanced, clean food choices that are mainly from things that were alive. Proteins sources (meat-seafood-eggs and vegetable), vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds, whole grains and healthy fats (Fish Oils) should make up most of your meals.
There is new evidence to suggest any kinds of grains have adverse effects on hormonal responses and inflammation but I am not ready to limit your inventory of food options too far just yet. Gluten is a hot topic in the nutritional world lately and much evidence supports the elimination of wheat and other Gluten sources from the diet as being a significant factor for success. People with digestive difficulty, blood sugar sensitivity and a tendency to eat larger quantities of food can benefit quickly from eliminating Gluten based products from their diet. In many cases it is the bread, noodles, rice etc. that fills us up but it also takes away space where better, more nutrient dense food could be.
Planning
The key to success in many aspects of our busy lives is not only arming yourself with information but organizing yourself to implement the knowledge that you gain. Simply stocking your cupboards and refrigerator with the foods does not help you put it in your body. As the week goes on and get busy you still need to ensure that you create a strategy that works for you for each day. Some people prefer to plan every meal for the week, shop based on that list, and then prepare meals ahead of time so they are ready to go as soon as you are. My wife comes from the, “lets plan out the whole week in advance” camp while I am personally more of the MacGyver/Iron Chef type. If you give me a bunch of healthy ingredients, some herbs and a specific amount of time I will whip up something healthy and awesome (just don’t ask me to make it more than once).
Organizing snacks and lunches for school and work and preparing for pre and post workout fueling takes time and thought but mostly it takes having the right foods on hand when you need them. If you do nothing else other than planning out your grocery list, surrounding yourself with healthy food choices and choosing foods that make you more healthy vs. foods that will make you less healthy you are well on your way. Ok, you got me, more healthy and less healthy are technically adverbs but let’s be clear, I am not Steven King, but my intentions are good!
Jeff
