Each morning as part of my daily Nutrition routine I eat a handful of Nuts with my coffee. To some that may sound quite out of the ordinary but starting the day with a good amount of fat allows me to 'break-my-fast' and get fuel my brain and body for morning training. As most of us, I am blessed with choices. Choosing which nut to fuel my morning with is sometimes a question so I thought I would dig into it a little bit more this week. Do I go with the walnut? A nut that I literally grew up on, coming from Linden CA where we lived on 12 acres of walnuts. Or the Almond? The creamy and dense nut that my grandfather and uncles grow and tend to be the kale of the burgeoning Nut business! Lets find out.
A quick primer on nuts themselves. No matter your health goals, eating 1-2 ounces of nuts Oper day is a great way to manage cholesterol, lose fat, add fiber to your diet and maintain proper brain function. What was once a small garish or a noshing ingredient at dinner parties, the consumption of Nuts now has shown significant benefits across the medical and scientific communities. Consistently, studies are coming out on the wide variety of Nuts and their diverse vitamin, mineral and even protein content!
Almonds Vs. Walnuts... Antioxidants .
Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant that acts as a guard against the stresses imposed upon the cells throughout the body. While many nuts, Walnuts and Almonds included, are high in Vitamin E the Almond slightly edges out the competition when it comes to this antioxidant. Keep this in mind as you pack your beach bag for the summer, include a few almonds in your snacks to help keep your skin protected during long sunny days.
Another important aspect of Vitamin E is that it can actually help protect other important Vitamins and healthy fats in your body. Nutrients helping Nutrients... Love it. Vitamin A (Retinol) is also another tissue fortifier and cellular aid. Vitamin E helps protect the vulnerable Vitamin A and keep your cells healthy .
One thing that Walnuts do have over Almonds is the higher amount of Vitamin B-6 which helps to control metabolism and regulate liver health and energy levels. So I consider it a tie so far :)
Almonds Vs. Walnuts... Where they fit in your macros.
Using myfitnesspal.com/food I was able to break down the serving sizes of each Nut and see exactly which nut would fit in my macros better.
Almonds - Serving size 20 nuts
-Protein 6 grams
-Carbs 6.1 grams
-Fat 14 grams
A big benefit of this nut is the protein amount. 6 grams is nothing to shy away from when it comes to plant based sources. Also this nut provides 3.5! grams of fiber per serving which is enough to help in weight loss and clean up digestive health .
Walnuts- Serving size 11 halves
-Protein 4.3 grams
-Carbs- 3.9 grams
-Fat 18.7 grams
The fat amount of Walnuts really should jump out at you. That is considerably higher than its rival, the almond. Across the board the walnut doesn't seem to outdo the Almond when it comes to Protein but if you are looking for the right nut to eat in the morning the Walnut seems to be the best option. It is low in carbs and high in fat which is good to help keep blood sugar low as you come out of your fasting state and get ready for the day. Pairing this nut with a morning espresso is a great way to jump start your day and keep your body satisfied until a late breakfast, if that works for your schedule.
Almonds Vs. Walnuts.. Minerals that tip the scales.
Macros aside, we need to look at out Micronutrients in our food as well. Potassium, magnesium and calcium are the top three as they help to power the electrical impulses in your body as well as keep your organs running smooth. And this is where Almonds Run away with the win.
Almonds have 75mg calcium to Walnuts 25mg.
Almonds Have 200mg Potassium to Walnuts 125mg.
Almonds Have 75mg of Magnesium to Walnuts 45mg.
So head to head, Almonds win the day in terms of density of Nutrients and Antioxidants. Luckily the production amount of this nut are keeping prices very low for the consumer without sacrificing quality. Being from California, there was a massive push about 15 years ago to start pulling cattle out of fields in the central valley and putting in almond orchards. The Almond products that you can buy now are super diverse and all pretty good. But balance is the key. As I stated before, with the high fat content of the Walnut, you should be eating those earlier in the day to fuel your brain for function and to keep blood sugar levels low.
With all this new info go and kick some ass today and this week. Ill keep digging in and providing you with the information you need to be the best possible version of yourself. With love and kindness, Eric.
Programming Notes 6/4-6/8
* We are on Week 2 of the Strength/ Endurance Cycle. Keep in mind that the scaling for the workouts should maintain the stimulus. For barbell conditioning (WED/FRI) try and go unbroken. Gymnastic strength work on Thursday is low intensity. Monday’s repeat from last week should allow you to note short term mental threshold achievements as you run faster and squat more than previous!
6/4
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
Power Skips
A Skips
B Skips
Fig 4 Drill
Lateral Shuffle
Carioca
Lateral Bounding
Sprint W/ Change of Direction
Endurance/Speed:
On a Running Clock,
400m Run
2 Minute Rest
200m Run
2 Minute Rest
400m Run
*Record Time. We will be repeating this for the next 4 weeks, record all details as to the ‘feel’ of the run, quality of the run and the times.
Strength WOD:
3 Attempts at max Reps @ 225.
-BackSquat-
Rest as needed between sets.
6/5
Baseline:
3X
250m Row
12 Squat Therapy
12 Deadbug Ipsalateral Reach
12 Lateral Hurdle Hops over Rower
Lunge Flow:
-Ankle Rotations
-Elbow To Instep + Reach
-Hamstring Pulses
-Samson Stretch
-Lunging Good Mornings
-Pigeon Stretch
WOD:
18 Min AMRAP
18/15 Cal Row
15 Box Jump Overs
12 Toes To Bar
9 Double Dumbbell Hang Squat Clean 50/35
6/6
Baseline:
3X
1:00 Jump Rope
:30 Handstand Hold
:40 Single Arm KB Swing (:20 on Each arm)
10 Kettlebell Wind Mills (each Side)
10 Kettlebell Side Bends (each Side)
PVC Snatch Warm Up:
-Pass Thru
-Trunk Rotations
-Back Rack Press
-Overhead Squats
-Muscle Snatch
-Hang Power Snatch + OHS
-Hang Squat Snatch
-Tempo Deadlift
Snatch Skill Work:
7 X At Complex, Building Each Set
2 Snatch High Pull
1 Hang Power Snatch
1 Full Snatch
2 Overhead Squats
WOD:
21-15-9 Push Press 115/75
150-100-75 Double Unders
*This is meant to be fast and unbroken. Sub 6 for sure!!. Scale Accordingly.
Cool Down:
Banded Lat Mob
Banded Bully Stretch
Banded Scapula Distraction
6/7
A-5:00 Easy Bike
B- Dynamic ROM:
10@ Each
-Shoulder Rolls
-Arm Swings
-Lateral Jabs
-Bow/Bend
-PVC Trunk Rotations
-PVC Pass Thru
-SIde Lunges
-Squats
-Leg Swings
-Narrow Foot Pos. Squat
C- Rotator Cuff Drills W/ 5# weights
-Bent Scarecrow +External Rotations
-Bent Plate Pull To Cheeks
-Bent Reverse Flys
-Bent lat pulls
-Standing Lateral Raises
-Standing Front Raises
-Standing Corkscrews
_Standing Wide Presses
-Standing Narrow Presses
Gymnastic Strength:
Ring Dip
3X12
*strict, strictW/ Band .. No Kipping
Single Leg Romanian Deadlift
3X12
*use a barbell to ensure that the torso stays aligned on eccentric portion
*drop non working toe on the ground behind you for balance.
Strength WOD:
For Time
50 Strict Pull Ups (go L sit Pull Up for Super RX)
100 Hand Release Push Ups
1 Mile On The bIke
6/8
Baseline:
800m Run
3X
10 Barbell Good Mornings
5 Barbell Roll Outs
10 Barbell Clusters (squat clean and Thruster)
Squat Flow: Kang Squat, Internal Rotation, Hip Bridge, Ankle Roll Outs, Boot Straps, PNF, Squat W/ T Spine Rotation
WOD:
10-8-6-4-2
Deadlift 245/155
Burpee X 2 (20-16-12-8-4)
Double Kettlebell Thrusters 44/26#
Cool Down:
Couch Stretch
Standing Hamstring Stretch
1:00 Side Plank (each Side)
