What a weird concept.... Foods, when taken together, help your performance and health. As athletes we strive to find the best possible way to increase oxygen to our muscles during training. More oxygen getting to our muscles allows us to work longer under strain. The mechanics are simple, you prime your motor with foods (and certain supplements) that open up blood vessels and allow oxygen rich blood to flush the muscles and tissues beating back Lactic Acid build up and fatigue. The answer my friends is Nitric Oxide and I will make a claim that certain foods will help you find that extra gear in your performance.
First a little background on Nitric Oxide and its pathophysiology. Nitric Oxide is a signaling molecule that acts on your body as a vasodialtor. Vaso = Vessels, in this case Blood Vessels. Dialator = to open , in this case Blood Vessels. Hormones, drugs, and certain foods either produce or act on the body to allow more blood to rush to tissues and muscles. Nitric Oxide and the associated amino acid ARGININE have been used to stop heart attacks (nitroglycerin), boost your erection (viagra) , and help Johnny Muscle Head get all veiny before he goes onstage at Mr. Olympia competition!
Because Im never going to put you on the supplement regiment that Johnny Muscle Head cosmos, I will give you the pump and performance you want with some key foods that act in combination. Ill get you to an 11 without crushing your kidneys! Sound good?
Meat eaters you are stoked because the first thing that can help boost your Arginine Levels is a diet where grass fed beef, poultry, fish and Shrimp are staples. But lets not forget about Veggies! In researching this topic I found that plant foods and diets rich in plant based proteins offer double the benefits. Beets and leafy greens like kale, Swiss chard, arugula, and spinach, are rich in dietary nitrates, compounds that stimulate the production of nitric oxide in the body. These veggies also contain a balanced amount of potassium (antioxidant booster), so its not surprising that a plant-based diet is associated with lower blood pressure, less cognitive degeneration, increased testosterone and sex drive.
Chocolate and Beets may be a bizarre combination but just as I mentioned amino acids (arginine) and the term 'oxide' in Nitric Oxide you can be sure that cramming a crap ton of nitric oxide boosting foods in your diet is the way to get to the Games... Well, no. Oxides produce oxidation in the cells and too much oxidation and free radicals can actually hurt you. You know all those 'antioxidant' pills, creams and other weird shit you take daily to look younger and feel better.. So now enter the antioxidant rich CHOCOLATE to the rescue!! Chocolate is high in 'flavonoids' that counter the damage done to your body through poor habits, excessive exercise, and other environmental stresses. Taking chocolate and other food based antioxidants (pomegranates, blueberries, kidney beans, pecans) along with Nitric Oxide Rich foods isa great way to keep your body firing and at the same time recovering properly.
If you can dial in your food consumption to match your exercise habits, you will certainly be boosting your Opens Performance this year. Exercise and Threshold training is another way tot naturally boost Nitric Oxide production in the body so certainly keep that going.
I would be amiss if I didn't say that boosting Nitric Oxide alone will help you reach your goals. B vitamins, high fiber diets, healthy fats, are all important as well and topics for another conversation. The cool thing is that if you look at the list of veggies and proteins that I listed above, you will see that if you follow an overall healthy living agenda, you hit 99% of your total health needs.
Stay Conscious my friends, and think before you eat. There is unimaginable wealth waiting for you once your diet is dialed in. I am here to support you along the way so keep at it and make this year the best year of your life!
With love, Eric.
Programming Notes 1/29-2/2
1/29
Baseline:
2X :30
-High Knee Jump Rope
-Elbow To instep Lunge
-Banded Squats
-Flutter Kicks
-Push Up W/ Shoulder Tap
Squat Flow: Kang Squat, Internal Rotation, Hip Bridge, Ankle Roll Outs, Boot Straps, PNF, Squat W/ T Spine Rotation
Back Squat:
10-5-3-3-10
*In as many sets, build to your 87-89% of 1RM.
*Your final set of 10 should be 20-40# heavier than your first set
WOD;
For Time
400m Run
60 Cal Row
400m Run
40 Cal Row
400m Run
20 Cal Row
*Consistency is king
*monitor your stroke rate and your split time on both run and Row.
Cash Out:
50 GHD Hip Extension
1/30
Baseline:
3X
20 Cal Bike
15 Slam Ball
10 Barbell Good Mornings
Banded:
-Lat Band Mob
-Bully Stretch
-Scapula Distraction
-Tricep Stretch
Double Under Prep :
-Single Skips
-High Jump Singles
-Cadence drills (3/1 2/1 1/1 singles/doubles)
Thruster Prep:
5-5-5-5
*Building above workout weight
WOD;
17.5
10 Rounds For Time
9 Thusters
35 Double Unders
1/31
Baseline:
800m Run
3X
10 KB Romanian Deadlift
10 KB Goblet Squat
10 Single Arm KB Press (5 each side)
Banded Prep: 10-15 Reps each
-Supinated Banded Pull Apart
-Prone Grip banded Pull APArts
-Banded Pass Through
-Banded Press
Jerk From Rack:
3-3-3-3
*across All Sets.
* you may use split or Push Jerk
* You May Cycle The reps, but only as long as you don’t limit the weight to do so!
WOD;
5 Rounds For Time
30 KB Overhead Lunge
25 Wall Ball
20 Sumo Deadlift 115/75
2/1
Baseline:
Tabata Your Warm Up;
-Single Leg Burpee *normal burpee except one foot stays off the ground at all times
-Single Arm Ring Row *switch arms each round
-Sprinter Sit Ups *from supine position, bring opposing arm/leg up like you were doing a high knee pull… fast!
3X 1:00 @ Each
-Box Pistol *switch legs after 5 reps
-Handstand Hold
WOD:
18 Min EMOM
A- 10X Chest TO bar Pull Ups
B- 15 X Box Jumps 24/20
C- 20X Toes To Bar
2/2
Baseline:
Dynamic ROM Drills
-Shoulder Rolls
-Arm Circles
-Lateral Jabs
-Bow/ Bend (toe Touches and Reach)
-Squats
-Single Leg Toe Touches
-Elbow To Instep Lunge
-Divebomber Push Ups
Snatch Warm Up:
7X @ Each
-romanian deadlifts
- snatch high pulls
-muscle snatches
- tempo overhead squats (OHS), tempo 23X1
- snatch balances
- power snatches to OHS (receive each rep a little deeper, pause 2 seconds in receiving position)
- snatch pull unders
- hang (squat) snatches
*spend 5 mins building to workout weight
Muscle Up Prep:
-ring Dip Negatives
-Muscle Up Pull Throughs
-Jumping Muscle Ups
WOD:
15 Min AMRAP
3 Snatch 135/95
3 Ring Muscle Ups
3 Burpee
6 Snatch
6 Ring Muscle Ups
6 Burpee
+ 3 Reps Each Round
*scale the Muscle up to include a muscle up pull through or other variation
*score is total reps completed after 15 mins
