Tis the season to be sniffling. Thats right, the cold and Flu season is in full swing with round number 1 of potentially 2 or 3 exposures during this winter season. The coughing and sore throats send millions of Americans to the Doctors office each year for a check up and potentially a misdiagnosis. You and your Doctor are busy people and the average :90 doctor patient interaction does not always allow for optimal communication and testing so there is a presumptive prescription of antibiotics. Well, there is growing evidence that these antibiotics could be doing more harm than good.
To stay on top of your athletic game you need to have your GUT as healthy as possible. The bacteria in your GUT are responsible for much more than just digestion but also hormone production and delivery, reduction of inflammation, and even muscle synthesis! When you take antibiotics you risk killing off all the healthy bacteria in your Gut and putting your health and the health of others at risk. Antibiotics work to break into the cell wall of bacteria cells. Your GUT bacteria are sitting ducks when it comes to the treatment as they lie right in the path of the oncoming medicine.
The scary thing is that with the increased use of antibiotics, bacterial cells develop ways to fight off the medicine and become stronger and immune to this type of therapy. This is why we are now seeing antibiotic resistant strains of MRSA and Staph. Bacteria have been around millions of years longer than humans just to give you an idea of how resilient they can be.....
According to the CDC (center for Disease Control), up to 90% of Colds are Viral infections and not bacterial infections. Though the symptoms may look similar, there is a very different pathophysiological response inside your body to a virus than to a bacterial infection. Trying to fight a Viral infection with antibiotics can make your immune system weaker! If your body is fighting a Virus you need to have your healthy bacteria working WITH you to keep out the bad bacteria that are going to try and move in while you are in a weekend state.
If you want to get back to training and stay on the Gain train there are some key tips to recovering from a cold virus or a antibiotic treatment..... Check this...
1. Eat foods that contain Acidophilus . This healthy bacteria is found in fermented yogurts, sauerkraut, kefir, and Kombucha. This will help boost the presence of bacteria in your digestive tract and get your entire body back on track.
2. Begin taking a Probiotic at the end of your antibiotic cycle. Probiotics are all over the place right now, I suggest taking one with a diverse group of bacterial strains and one that also contains a high concentration of Vitamin C. Vitamin C not only helps fight off BAD bacteria but it helps to avoid Free Radical damage to healthy cells and decreases inflammation.
3. Eat lean protein, veggies and fruits. Along with Vitamin C there are other Vitamins like D, E and K that are essential for blocking out bad bacteria and boosting the good bacteria. If you choose to go the route of not taking the antibiotics, you can use nutrition to be your therapy instead of using drugs! Here are some key foods to eat when you get a cold.
-Salmon
-Almonds
-Broccoli
-Asparagus
-Cucumbers
-Avocado
-Butternut Squash
-dried apricots or cherries
4. Stay the HELL away from Processed Grains. The worst thing you can do for your GUT health and the best thing you can do for bad bacteria or a Virus is to eat greasy and processed foods. The inflammation caused by bad bugs eating bad food in your body compounds sickness and increases the opportunity for you to spread the virus or bad bacteria.
Beating the Holiday sickness trend is working with Nature instead of against it. Be cautious of all medicine unless it is specifically going to aid in rapid recovery . The best thing to to is to attack the cause instead of the symptoms. Creating a environment in your training and diet that is conducive to a healthy GUT biome will pay off in the long run. Train hard but live consciously and we will keep striving towards our optimal selves as the winter progresses. And for Gods sake, cover your mouth when you cough and wash your frickin hands before touching all the shit in the gym!
With Love, E.
Programming Notes 11/27-12/1
11/27
Baseline:
3X
10 cal Bike
10 M Bear Crawl
10 Squat Therapy
5 Strict Toes To Bar
Squat Flow: Squat Flow: Kang Squat, Internal Rotation, Ankle Roll Out, Bootstraps, PNF Stretch, Squat W/ T Spine Stretch
BackSquat Week 2 Test
3-3-3-1-1-1
*strap in and get fired up, rest as needed between sets and push your limits!
WOD:
3 Rounds For Time
400m Run
15 Toes To Bar
25 DB Snatch 50/35 (scale to American KB Swing)
11/28
Baseline:
*spend 3-5 mins rolling out sub scapula and Hip capsule. open up front rack and squat depth!
1:00 High Knee Jump Rope
:45 Jumping Pull Ups
1:00 Single Leg Jump Rope
:45 Barbell Front Squat
1:00 Double Under Practice
:45 Mountain Climbers
*spend 5-9 minutes working the front squat and Chest to bar Progression
-focus on front rack with elbows and shoulders in alignment
-work the kipping motion and upper back mobility
WOD:
“Heartbreak Kid”
3 X
10 Front Squat 185/135
20 Chest TO bar Pull Ups
50 Double Under
*Compare to 2/6/17
11/29
Baseline:
3:00 On Erg
Then-
21-15-9
Divebomber Push Ups
V Ups
Air Squats
Lat Band Mobility/ Bully Stretch/ Scapula Distraction Stretch
WOD;
AMRAP 15
50 Burpee over Rower
50 Cal Row
50 Handstand Push Ups
50 Double KB Bent Over Row 35/26
*On Bent Over Row, ensure that the hip hinge and back resemble the deadlift position for maximum effectiveness. I don’t want this programmed to heavy and have the hips and shoulders bouncing around by rep 15!
11/30
Baseline:
Agility Warm Up @ 10m Each (approximately 10 mins long)
High Knee Pull
Quad Pull
Squat 180 **stepping the leg high over hip, swing opposite leg to 180, squat
High Knees
Butt kickers
Marching High Kicks
Groiners
Straight leg shuffles
Fig 4 Drill
Lateral Shuffle
Carioca
Lateral Bounding
Sprint W/ Change of Direction
*practice progressive speed and Change of direction.
-each of the 40m intervals in the workout should be at max intensity.
WOD:
5 Minute AMRAP
40m Shuttle Sprints + 1 Rope Climb
(ensure intensity and Change of Direction safety)
Rest 2:00
4 Minute AMRAP
Wall ball Shots
(make note of max rep set in beginning)
Rest 2:00
3 Min AMRAP
Lateral Box Jump Overs 24/20
(scale height so that hip stay perpendicular to box)
Rest 2:00
2 Min AMRAP
Barbell Front Rack Step Ups 135/95
(use 20” of lower box for everyone, knee and hip in alignment on step)
Rest 2:00
1 Min AMRAP
Push Ups
(unbroken, no-one taps out or drops out of plank)
12/1
Baseline:
3X
200m Run
12 Med Ball Clean and Press
24 Med Ball Russian Twist
10X @ Each
-leg Swings
-side Lunges
-Tuck Jumps
-Heel Walk
-toe walk
-Bow and Bend
Strength Work:
Clusters (squat clean + Thruster)
5-4-3-2-1
*building in weight
* may be dropped between reps, but quickly reset and GO.
*address rapid Hip extension first before hip flexion. Get the bar moving up!
WOD:
7 Rounds For Total Time
200 M SPRINT!!
5 Deadlift 315/225
:45 Rest Between sets
