There are few things that get me more excited than learning something new. My dorky excitement is elevated when new findings occur right in front of my eyes, on products and nutrients that I may be taking for granted. Well my friends, this is exactly what has happened when I simply turned one of my supplement bottles over and looked closer at the contents! Magnesium has just stoked me out and today we are going to dive in on 2 little known facts about this VITAL mineral.
I like to think that I have done a bit of research and understand the pathophysiology of all that I put into my body. I read, research, and test so much when it comes to nutrition. But when I looked closer at my cellular "DETOX" supplement I had to give myself a good smack across the face because a simple truth has been lying in front of me the whole time and I just didn't se it.
Magnesium; the best DETOX Program nature can give us.
Now before you get all excited about the word DETOX and think that its going to be the cure all for your late night partying... lets keep it focused on athletic performance. While I do sympathize with a good bottle of wine and some laughs with friends, we need to stay focused on what is going to help us become the best possible athletes and humans possible. Magnesium works to purge your cells of unwanted waste and keep you firing.
To explain this, lets talk ENERGY. Your body wants to keep up with the demands of energy or ATP production. Your body wants to give you the fuel to power your training. During energy production there is a lot of give and take between your cells, the nutrients floating in your system. Sodium and potassium are being shuttled in and out of your cells with the gate keepers being Magnesium and Calcium. If the balance is off between the two minerals, (usually higher levels of calcium), then the cell is choked off and the cell walls become hardened. Magnesium is a lubricant of sorts. Magnesium works with the tiny cellular pumps in your cells to keep calcium flowing out of the cells along with other byproducts of energy production. Optimal Magnesium = Healthy Cells.
Build up of waste in the cells creates all kinds of problems including decreased performance, early aging and because calcium toxicity is a real problem, the hardening of the cell walls is just the beginning. Calcium toxicity creates tissue hardening which leads to arteriosclerosis, which is a hardening of the blood vessels... that spells death in a groin number of Americans!
Magnesium as a Powerful ANTIOXIDANT.
Antioxidants are nutrients and molecules that prevent the oxidation of other molecules and its all about LEVELS. Levels of antioxidants in your body need to be in balance or else shit can go wrong big time. Immunity, aging, tissue damage, organ health .... all the components of a healthy organism depend on the oxidative damage that occurs. I have written extensively about both ANTIOXIDANTS and GLUTATHIONE which is one of the most important antioxidants in your bod. Magnesium, not surprisingly, is vital to ensuring that antioxidants are at peak levels and that the stresses that create oxidative damage are mitigated.
This just blew my mind... why had I not put it together that Magnesium was a vital antioxidant!! I have written about all manner of nutrients that we should be eating like berries, almonds, even chocolate but had not put it together that the list of powerful antioxidants looks similar to a list of magnesium rich foods!
You can laugh at me right now if Im the only one who is as excited about this. (These kind of "DUH" moments for me is when I reveal my most extreme dorkyiness about health and fitness)
In the same way that Magnesium acts to balance things out in the cells, so it does in tissues and organs like epidermis, kidneys, liver and the like. In fact and not surprisngly those folks who optimize Magnesium levels throughout their lives have been shown to look younger and live longer than those who dent. This is very apparent in population who eat Whole Foods that are rich in nutrients VS. those that eat more processed foods.
Simplicity has won't the day; the simple actions of this widely known mineral have surprised and excited me. Magnesium rich foods are found everywhere;
-Sprouted Nuts and Seeds
-wild caught fish (especially salmon)
-organic dairy
-raw chocolate
-Leafy greens (Swiss chard and collard greens being the highest)
-avocados
-Seaweed
These foods are wonderful sources for daily nutrition but as athletes we may need more. The daily amount for men and women is 400-500mg per day. Magnesium supplements are abundant and a quick search can steer you in the right direction.
The take away today is 1.Look closely at your magnesium intake to optimize detoxification and promote heathy aging 2. BLOW your mind today by doing your own research. Each week I dedicate myself to learning something new and 100% of the time it yields a really sense of growth. We must all be trying to level up our consciousness in order to progress. We live in an age where greatness through education is literally a few key strokes away. Get fired up and Ill be here to support you along the way!
Love,
Eric
Programming Notes 4/30-5/4
4/30
Baseline:
500m Row
3X
12 Bird dogs
12 Barbell Good Mornings
10 Barbell Cuban Press *same Range of Motion as a muscle Snatch, only do it strict . High pull/external rotation/ press to lock out
500m Row
Snatch Warm Up:
7@ Each
-dynamic High Pull
-muscle Snatch
-behind the neck push Press
-snatch balance
-hang power Snatch
-Power Snatch below knee
WOD:
“Randy”
75 Snatch @ 75/55
Core Cash Out:
1:00 side plank (each side)
:30 Bird Dog Hold (each Side)
5/1
Baseline:
Agility Warm Up @ 10m Each
High Knee Pull
Quad Pull
Marching High Kicks
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
*make sure you are hot and supple before beginning sprints
Sprint Work:
4X 200m Sprints
*rest 2:00 between efforts
Strength:
Front Squat
5-5-3-3-3 (building)
Back Squat
10-10-10 (across)
*the time under tension is designed for you to push hard through each set. Top end set of 3 should be in the 85-90% range. Backsquat should be around your 75%.
5/2
Baseline:
5:00 Easy Bike
30 Squat Therapy
30 Push Ups
30 Deadbug Ipsalateral Reaches
30 Dumbbell Bent over row (each side)
Lunge Flow:
-Ankle Circles
-Elbow to Instep + Reach
-Hamstring Pulses
-Lunging Good Mornings
-Pigeon Stretch
Aerobic Workout:
Fro Total Time
400m Sandbag Run
30 Sandbag Clean
30 Front Rack Sandbag Lunge
-Rest :30
30 Chest To bar Pull Up
30 Cal Bike
-Rest :30
15 Sandbag Clean
15 Front Rack Sandbag Lunge
400m Sandbag Run
Cool Down:
Couch Stretch
Standing Hamstring Stretch
5/3
Baseline;
Roll out calves for 2 Mins!!
3X :30
-Jump Rope (switch it up, high knees, singles, doubles, triples)
-Reverse Lunges
-Divebomber Push Ups
-Side Lunges
-Inch Worms +Push Up
Skill Development:
3X On each side
10 Kneeling Dumbbell Press (single arm/single Dumbbell)
10 Overhead hold+ Step Ups (from a kneeling position, step up and then return to kneeling position)
WOD:
“EOMOTM 20” (go every 2 minutes X10 Rounds)
50 Double Unders/ Scale to :35 seconds of double under attempts
10 Pistol Squats / scale to box Pistols
50’ Handstand Walk / Scale to 3 Wall Climbs
5/4
Baseline:
With 2 cones 25’ apart,
-samson Lunge
-Elbow to instep Lunge
-Duck Walk
-Squat +180 turn
-Inch worm + Push Up
-Crab Walk 2x
-Bear Crawl 2X
-frog hops
-broad Jumps
Clean warm Up:
7 Reps @ each
-clean Lift Off
-muscle clean
-hang Power Clean (pockets)
-Hang Power clean (mid Thigh)
*spend 9 minutes building past workout weight, and covering proper position on the ring dip
-shoulders descend forward
-eyes pitch down on the way to the bottom support
-elbow stays over wrist
-cover kipping ring dip
WOD:
15 Min AMRAP
5 Hang Power Clean 185/125
7 Ring Dip
12 Wall Ball Shot
