Question of the day...
What is your favorite Summertime beverage or food?
Chances are, you are thinking of something cold. A iced tea, ice cream, or a cold salad... Probably not a hot tea or spicy lamb curry. The intuitive sense of cooling your body off with cold foods is truly something that Americans take as the surest way of relief. But... (you know there has to be a but) what if I told you that the real physiological relief comes in the way of herbs?! Lets take a look at the common misconceptions of icing your body down and the natural way your body can beat the heat.
The truth of the matter is that the ice you are putting in your body is a temporary fix. Your body is a fine tuned machine. It likes to be maintained at a balmy 98.6 degrees. When you injest cold beverages or food on a hot day the stomach and GUT expend valuable calories to warm the ingredients back up. The process is called thermogenesis and it is something that other cultures like North Africans have mastered. For millennia these desert dwellers have transited the Saharan desert with little shade and extreme heat. They drink warm to hot mint tea to maintain hydration and keep the body from overheating. Seems counter intuitive? Well when the body doesn't have to work as hard to keep it running, you stay cooler. I recommend not using ice in your water and drinking warm Sun Made tea during these long summer days. So here is tip #1 to keeping heat from knocking you out of play time.
The Herbal Solution to Heat.
Mint.
Mint Naturally contains Menthol which has a natural cooling effect, especially when put in tea or other beverages. Eating whole Mint Leaves is very aromatic and can aid in digestion. This is an important point because digestion produces heat and a metabolic bump, so get down with this Herb that is widely available.
Sage.
Sge is a Cousin to mint and has similar cooling effects when placed in teas or beverages with things like honey. Another key benefit from sage is its effect on the nervous system. The nervous system can be frazzled from stress or other environmental factors like Heat and Sage counteracts the strain. And its not just heat stress, Sage has classically been used of Menopausal women as a relief for heat and dryness.
Turmeric.
This POWERFUL anti-inflammatory is used widely in Eastern Cooking to counter balance the heat from chilis and other spicy ingredients. Inflammation creates heat and tension in the body and Turmeric can be added to everything from beverages to desserts for a bit of bitter relief. Turmeric also has amazing cancer fighting abilities and is more frequently being used in western "Health" foods.
Beating the Summer Heat can be quite refreshing if you look at it from alternative perspectives. There is so much to be learned when we look to food and consumption through Natures eyes. The goal is to try and not block nature out of our lives but rather bring it in, use its solutions through food and nutrition, and become healthier along the way.
Love you all,
Eric
Programming Notes 7/16-7/20 *Note that this is week 8 of the Speed/ Strength Work and I have a beefy test for you on Wednesday. 1 mile run repeats with a very short recovery time. Monitor your recovery “quality” at the :90 mark. Rotational work on Monday can be broken up or scaled if necessary. Ensure that the core is braced and rotation is powerful and deliberate.
7/16
Baseline:
Spend 5 Minutes Rolling out the lats and upper back before warm Up.
400m Run
20 Side Lunges
20 Squat Therapy
20 Divebomber Push Ups
20 Alternating Knee To Elbow in Plank
400m Run
Gymnastic Skill:
3X :30 @ Each
-L Sit On Parallette
-GHD Hip Extension
-Chin Up
WOD:
5-4-3-2-1
Rope Climb
*In between each set, 20 Rotational Med ball Slams>
(line up laterally from the wall, keep ball at mid line level and slam and react . Change sides as necessary)
7/17
Baseline:
3X
1 Minutes of Easy Biking
1 minute of Easy single Rope Skips
Lunge Flow:
-Elbow Instep Stretch + Reach
- Hamstring Pulses
- Side Lunge side to side
-Samson Lunge
-Pigeon Stretch
Clean Warm Up:
7 Reps @ Each
-Clean Deadlift
-High Pull
-Clean Pull Under + Front Squat
-hang Clean
-clean below Knee
Clean Complex:
7 Rounds Building
-Clean Pull
-Hang Power Clean
-Hang Clean below the Knee
WOD:
10 Rounds For Time
5 Cleans 155/105
10 Cal Bike
30 Double Unders
7/18
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
Bounding Skip
Groiners
Straight leg shuffles
Fig 4 Drill
Lateral Shuffle
Carioca
Lateral Bounding
Sprint W/ Change of Direction
Squat Flow: Kang Squat, Internal Rotation, Hip Bridge, Ankle Roll Outs, Boot Straps, PNF, Squat W/ T Spine Rotation
Tempo Back Squat Exposure #4
3X 4 @ (2/1/1)
*go heavier than last week
WOD;
1 Mile Run
Rest:90
1 Mile Run
*faster than 5 K Pace
*monitor recovery during the :90
*note the quality of your second mile
7/19
Baseline:
3X
250m Row
8 Strict Toes TO Bar (sub knee raises)
12 American KB Swing
WOD;
4X 3 min AMRAP
20 Pull Ups
10 Burpee
-Max Hang Power Snatch 95/65
Rest 2:00 Between efforts
*scale to American KB swing for workout if needed.
7/20
Baseline:
***take a lacrosse ball into the sub scapula area, chest, and back of shoulder for 5 mins
3X
100m Run
15 Plate Squats
15 Plate Ground to Overhead
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
Strength:
Strict Press
10-10-10
WOD:
21-15-9
Ring Dip
Slam Ball
