Yesterday we covered what the body uses to fuel your activity levels and how it decides which energy source to use and when. Fats and Carbs are essential and must be balanced in the body. Your diet is essentially the lab. Thats right, you are a walking, talking science experiment ! The experiment is under constant change as your hormones, stress levels, activity levels, and lifestyle do not exist in a vacuum.
Dieting, therefore, needs to be closely managed and thoughtfully planned in order to adjust for changes and keep performance at the highest level. A basic truth is that you can hedge the adjustments in your life by always "FUELING" the body with the healthiest foods possible all the time. The body is resilient and can make adjustments to overall performance in as short as a couple days but long term strategies and planning will yield a more consistent results. So the time is now to think about your performance in CrossFit and your diet.
Interval training in CrossFit demands that your body adjust to burning both Carbs and Fats. These macronutrients have different functions and burn at different rates. For more info on that, go back to yesterdays blog. In general, the goal of most people when they enter into a CrossFit training plan or interval training regiment is fat loss. In order to burn more fat you need to train your body to burn fat... so you limit your carbohydrate intake and give it no other choice!
Many who have tried to go cold turkey on the carbs to do this have met the reality of decreased energy in the beginning. I have heard all manner of things like, haziness, fatigue, lack of strength, and nausea during wods. All are true, but as a matter of fact it is a testament to how much we are all addicted to a high carbohydrate lifestyle. This is a point to remember as you dive into your holiday dinner!!!!
There is light a the end of the tunnel. You body will make the switch to burning fat for energy and you will re-emerge as the CrossFit champ you once was. I promise. This time you will be more lean and mean. Kinda like the sound of that? Well you can start tonight as you fall asleep. When you wake in the morning, try no carbs or a little fruit and high protein/fat breakfast. Lets get the ball rolling.
If you are very concerned about your performance as you come off the carbs, you can supplement prior to workouts although whenever you drop carbs into the system, you spike the insulin as well. Whenever there is a heightened insulin level your body will always go to burning carbs first before the fat... just F.Y.I.
I am around to help and guide anyone through this process. What we are doing physically is only a small fraction of the overall health plan we need to be establishing. I believe in each of you!
Baseline:
Snatch Warm Up:
3X Each Movement
Down/Finish
ELBOWS
Muscle Snatch
Snatch Drops
Overhead Squats
Snatch Balance
High Pull Unders
Skill Development:
1) Hang Snatch High Pull
4X2 @ 82%
2) Snatch balance to 2 Overhead Squats
2 @ 70%, 2@75%, 2@80%
3) Hang Power Snatch
3X4 across all sets
Strength:
Back Squat
5@60%
5@65%
5@75%
5@85%
Cash Out:
3 RFT
10 Power Snatch 75/55
30 Double Unders
Max Duration L- Hang On bar
