It is no surprise that fitness and training can fall off the rails during the holidays. If you are like 90% of us, I feel like the days are busier now than they were when we chased every minute of summer. Much of the problem is not only the race to get ready for the upcoming holiday but we also have less hours of daylight which really can mess up your schedule and drive. But, we can always get a win if we plan our Nutrition. Here are 5 of my top tips you should use to be successful.
If you have not done Meal Prep as an athlete then you are seriously missing an important element of your performance. Meal Prepping is simply the deliberate acknowledgment that you are a Human and you need to eat food to survive. Meal Prepping is planning for the future. I personally use it not only for a cost effective and time sensitive way to plan my meals but it is SCIENCE as well!! Yes, you get to perform an experiment on your self over the week as you try meals and portion size to see how it affects your training, body, and cognitive health. Basically, If you dont do it yet, Start now.
Also, leave the excuses behind like….. I dont have time or I dont know how to cook. A simple google Search can direct you to nutritious recipes for athletes that dont know how to cook. Look HERE
Now for the tips to success. Im not going to wow you with some incredible Hacks, Just real life ways that you can use this Season of food to your advantage.
Plan our your shopping List.
If you dont have a plan when you walk into the Grocery store, you are screwed. grocerie stores are sales floors and Americans love to buy and eat. From the displays to the packaging, food is meant to appeal to your senses. The tried and true way of successful shopping is to stay in the Produce section for quite a while and then migrate to the meats.. briefly pass down the aisles with a plan and keep moving. Otherwise you will be walking out with every sale item they have on the shelf. Your meals are simple, 7 ingredients or less so your cart should reflect that.Buy Seasonal Foods.
I love when I talk to guys about meal prep and they tell me that they planned ahead by buying 30 bananas because they we on sale. First rule of Meal Prep is to not go overboard on things that will sit on your counter and go bad. You need to buy foods that are in season and that you are GOING TO COOK. It is fine if you buy 2 Butternut Squash or the big bag of Kale for roasting because that can equal enough carbs for 5-6 meals. Even Apples which CAN sit on the counter for a while, only buy what you intend to eat in a weeks time. Its better to run out than to have food sit.
Additionally, when buying seasonal foods you are in a better situation if you want to cook for your friends and family during the holiday. No-one comes over to your spot and intends to eat Spaghetti Bolognese during Christmas time. They want winter squash, green veggies and MEAT.Store your foods in glass.
When Meal Prepping I always recommend stroking food in glass rather than plastic. Its for 2 reasons; 1. You decrease the health risks associated with heating foods in plastic (WHICH I HIGHLY DISCOURAGE, F*@K MICORWAVES), 2. The Food keeps better and flavors remain in the food rather than seeping into the crappy plastic container. If you are pricing the food out into individual meals or storing in bulk, glass is a good idea.Stick to the Macros.
Holiday Meals, for as extravegenat as they may be, really come down to a meat, a carbohydrate like potato or vegetable, and a fat like Nuts or oils in the preparation. Your Meal Prepping should be just the same. If you plan on entertaining this Holiday Season and Prepping some meals off the left overs then keep it simple. Let your guests bring over some of the trimmings like gravy and cranberry. You should do the heavy lifting so that the Macros are prepared to your liking. And by all means share the gift of health and food this holiday.Dont Forget Dessert.
Lets be real folks. If there is a time to incorporate Dessert into your meal Prep, now is it! What I recommend is doing it correctly. Portion out your Dessert into small containers , no bigger than a normal serving of fats. I use the palm of my hand for measurement. The 5 meals that you prepare can have sweet ending with 2-3 ounces of a berry pie or apple pie.
The big take away this holiday is to stay on track and be conscious of what you stuff in your mouth. Meal Prepping is SO easy once your try it. The benefits you will see are in your wallet and on the gym floor. Getting through this month of revelry with our best friends and family… and feeling good the whole time is important.
Try these tis out and Ill be here to support you along the way . Train with passion and eat with consideration.
Love
ERIC
12/3-12/7 **This is week 6 of the Sprint/ Strength Exposure cycle. This week we up the Annie on the 200m intervals. The rest time between intervals should be 3:00, the same as the 100m efforts which means that you can give 90% efforts to each. Benchmark workout “Energizer” comes back this week and our strength bias at the end of the week is the Deadlift 5X3. Train hard and recover well with Whole Foods and rest.
12/3
Baseline:
Agility Warm Up @ 10m Each
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
Sprint Primer:
Run 400 m at 80% and then rest 1:30 before beginning intervals
Sprint Work:
200m X 3 @ 90%
100m X 2 @100%
**Rest 3;00 between all efforts
Skill Work;
EMOM 16
A - 10 Front Rack Bulgarian Split Squat ‘L’
B- 10 Front Rack Bulgarian Split Squat ‘R’
C- 12 Lateral Line Touches @ 10m cone distance
D-Rest
12/4
Baseline:
3X
50’ Med Ball Lunge
12 Med Ball Squats
12 Med Ball Push Press to 10’ target
10 Med Ball Cleans
Banded Mobility:
Lat band Stretch
Bully Stretch
Half Moon Pose
Lunge Hip Distraction Stretch
Banded Hip Hinge/ Hamstring Stretch
WOD:
“Energizer”
5 Rounds For Total Time
400m Run
21 Wall Ball Shots
18 Calorie Row
12 Kettlebell Snatch 53/35
**Comapre to 7/5/18
12/5
Baseline:
**Roll out Upper back, lats, and chest for 5 mins before class
3X
15 Cal Bike
50’ Banded Lateral Monster Walk
20 Banded Squats
:10 Ring Support Top
:10 Ring Support bottom
12 Banded Press+ Rip
Cluster prep:
7 @ Each
-Clean Grip Deadlift
-Shrug+ High Pull
-Shrug+ Pull Under
-Front Squat
-Thruster
-Hang Clean + Thruster
-Cluster
**Build to working Weight
WOD:
15 Min AMRAP
7 Clusters 155/115
14 Strict Ring Dips
Cool Down:
Banded Lat Stretch
Banded Bully Stretch
12/6
Baseline:
4X :30 @ Each
-Jumping Jacks
-Dumbbell Single Leg Deadlift
-Dumbbell Bent Over Row
-Dumbbell Windmills
-Mountain Climbers
3X Not For Time
:30 Parallette L Sit Holds
:30 Chin Over Bar Holds
6 Dumbbell Turkish Get ups
WOD;
4 Rounds For Time
6 Dumbbell Burpee 50/35
12 Renegade Row
-Rest 5 Mins_
4 Rounds for Time
6 Dumbbell Turkish Get ups 50/35
12 Chest to bar Pull Ups
12/7
Baseline;
3X
250m Row
12 D Ball Deadlifts
12 V ups
12 Side Lunges
Hamstring Primer:
3x8
-Deficit Romanian Deadlift
-Pendlay Row
Strength:
Deadlift
3-3-3-3-3
*Building
WOD;
FoR Time
1K Row
200m farmer Carry 70’s/50’s
30 Toes To bar
200m Farmer Carry
1k Row
