From Aches and Pains to Cancer, Inflammation is what we as Human Beings are in constant danger of succumbing to. As Athletes we strive to mitigate unnecessary inflammation through diet and exercise. Understanding what is going on in our GUT, taking a snapshot if you will, is impossible to do from day to day and our natural immune response can be out of order. Bacteria like Candida could be overgrown in your body, creating chronic inflammation without you easily identifying the symptoms. Lets dive in today on what Candida Overgrowth is and how to eliminate it.
Let me set the stage by giving you a picture in your mind. Your GUT is like a beautiful meadow, the sun is shining, its warm, and all of the bugs and field animals live in harmony with each other. As each day passes, there are winds and rain that bring in food for the animals in your meadow. In a healthy environment there is food for everyone and balance is maintained. BUT, if say the wind blow in heaps and heaps of carrots…. well then the bunnies are going to have a field day and its going to be a feeding frenzy (go with me on this). Bunnies are going to multiply, shit is going to get out of whack and BAM! you have yourself an ecosystem that is now out of balance.
This same scenario happens each day in your GUT. As you wake in the morning, from the first thing you drink, you set the scene of harmony or disfunction in your GUT. The Field animals and insects are your Gut BACTERIA. Candida Albicans are a yeast that lives in your GUT naturally but man does it love the American Diet of high processed foods, sugar and of course a decreased immune system.. Its like a bunny sex orgy every day in most of us.
Ok Ill leave the weird meadow analogy alone for now but you get the picture right. The ecosystem of your GUT is fragile, (also quite resilient I might add), and what you are eating have a 100% effect on how its sustained.
The most common causes of Candida Yeast Overgrowth are a High Sugar Diet, Chronic Stress, Contraceptive Pills, Mercury and other Chemical Poisoning, and Diabetes. And the scary thing is, the bacteria can actually perpetuate inflammation, growth and damage to the body because of its ability to alter the pH in your intestines BY ITS SELF! Once the yeast begins to overgrow, even your immune system has a hard time fighting it which is why a DILIGENT nutrition plan is necessary to keep the Candida at bay.
Whole Food Nutrition, you know Im going to drop the list on you and its all the usual suspects:
-NoN Starchy vegetables like Kale, Broccoli, Onions, Tomatoes, Zucchini, Brussel Spouts.
-Healthy Grains like Buckwheat and Quinoa.
-Good Fats like Coconut Oil, flax oil, almonds, hazelnuts, sunflower seeds
-GUT Beneficial Proteins like Salmon, Herring, Turkey, Chicken, Bison
High Fiber is the Key to kicking out Candida Growth. Leafy veggies, like the ones listed above are the best as acting like INTESTINE SCRUBBERS. Foods that are not digested in the Small intestine but get passed through and feed healthy bacteria and clear out old and bad bacteria.
Some symptoms that arise when Candida have taken over are :
-poor mood
-digestive problems
-constant and frequent yeast infections
-Joint Pain
-Slow Cognition, or Lazy Brain
-Chronic Fatigue
The symptoms are signs but the chronic imbalance can have lasting effects including kidney failure, arthritis, heart problems, Gout, Alzheimers and other serious life threatening problems.
Without sounding like the fun police I do want to call attention to this very serious issue that may affect more and more of us as time goes on. Remember that chronic diseases are the effect of long term, and often overlooked, inflammatory symptoms. Each day we have the opportunity to create that utopia in our GUT that will allow us to keep doing what we love for a long time to come. SO think before you eat, please.
You keep up the diligent work on the food front, loving yourself with every bite of food you take and Ill keep bringing you the most up to date and relevant nutrition and health info possible. I love you and wish you well this week.
Eric
Programming Notes 10/1-10/5 **This is week 6 of the Unilateral exposure cycle. The goal is to develop strength about the adductor and increase agility . The two workouts this week will be stacked on Monday and Tuesday. Tuesday’s skill session is a new one for you all. Read the description attached. I just learned a really cool thing about isometric holds while contraction is happening on the transverse limb… interesting stuff. All SCIENCE. Then we have a classic HERO WOD in Remembrance of those who have given so much so we can do what we do. Enjoy.
10/1
Baseline:
3X
200m Run
10 Barbell Good Mornings
10 Barbell Back Rack Lunges
25’ Banded Monster Walk
10 Deadbug Contralateral Reach
Skill Development:
Sumo Deadlift
3X8
*Across all sets.
*take 4-5 Building sets to load
WOD:
4 Rounds For Time
12 Deadlift 275/185
200m KB Farmer Carry (HEAVY)
Cool Down:
Banded Hip Distraction
Banded Hamstring
10/2
8 Minute Casual Run Through;
100’ Run + BackPedal. (Begin by running 50’ forward/50’ backward. Then 100’ Forward/100’ Backward.)
100’ lateral Shuffle + Arm Swing
100’ Bear Crawl
10 Elbow To instep Lunges
Squat Flow: Squat Flow: Kang Squat, Internal Rotation, Ankle Roll Out, Bootstraps, PNF Stretch, Squat W/ T Spine Stretch
Unilateral Work:
Single Arm Overhead Lateral Box Step Overs
3X 8 (each arm)
*As the name says, hold a Dumbbell overhead. Step Laterally onto, up and over a 24” box. Keep DB locked out overhead during the entire 8 steps over the box. Control both the eccentric and concentric part of the step over.
WOD;
10 Min AMRAP
30 Medicine Ball Clean
15 Knee To Elbow
100’ Shuttle Sprint W/ Change of Direction
*On the shuttle Sprint, shuttle out to 50’ mark, pivot and sprint back. Then out to the 100’ mark and back. Try and use non dominant side every once in a while. THESE ARE SPRINTS SO GO HARD>
10/3
Baseline:
3X
20 Cals on Bike
15 Jumping Pull Ups
10 Push Ups
5 Side Lunges
Snatch Warm Up: (6 Mins)
7@ Each
-Pass Thru
-High Pull to Cuban Press (pull elbows high, rotate and press out)
-Overhead Squat
-Sotts Press
-hang Snatch
-Snatch
Bar Muscle Up Prep: (6 Mins)
-Kip Swing
-Hips to Bar Pull Up
-Jumping bar Muscle Up
-Bar Dips
WOD;
3 5 Min AMRAPS
3 Bar Muscle Ups
6 Snatch 115/75
9 Box Jumps 24/20
*scale the bar Muscle Up to a Jumping Muscle up using a box below the bar.
10/4
Baseline:
Row 1K Easy
3X
10 Banded Press + Rip
10 Banded Row
10 Banded Lat Pull Downs (light bands on the rig)
Shoulder Primer:
W/ Light Dumbbells 5-15#
20 Reverse Flys
20 Bent Scare Crows
20 See-Saw Press
20 Front Raises
20 Lateral Raises
Alternating EMOM 12
A- 6-8 Ring Dips
B- 8-10 Supine Rig Rows
*Looking for quality movement, not speed
WOD:
50-40-30-20-10
Row For Cals
Burpee
10/5
Baseline:
W/ Light KB
10 KB Halos
10 KB Presses (each arm)
10 KB Lateral Rotations
10 KB Good Mornings
10 KB Side Lunges
10 KB Goblet Squat
10 KB Goblet Cleans
10 KB Single Arm Thrusters (each arm)
Power Clean Prep:
-High Pull (from hang and from Shin)
-Muscle Clean
-Hang Power Clean (hips)
-Hang Power Clean (above Knee)
-Hang Power Clean (shin)
Spend 6-8 Mins Building to Workout Weight
WOD:
“Holleyman”
30 Rounds for Time
5 Wall Ball
3 handstand Push Ups
1 Power Clean 225/155
