What's Up With Supps?

Alot of people ask the question, "Hey man, What supps you takin?" I usually answer quickly, "Steroids", just to get a rise out of people. Truth is, I don't really take much in the way of supplements. I get most of what I need through the quality foods I eat. I can say with confidence that food is one of the best "supplements" you can take.

There are some supplements that may prove beneficial to those individuals training with higer levels of intensity, the elderly, or any one really looking to gain ultimate health and function.

So what should you take? Well, I am going to step on my soapbox for a minute here and say, "Don't be a fish!" What do I mean by that? Well, all too often I see people, more specifically, men aged 20-30 years old flock to the supplement section of a store. They are mesmerized by the flashy packaging just like a fish is attracted to shiny lures. Stay away from the glitter and glam of MuscleTech and other companies that use buzzwords like "unbelievable gains" "mountains of muscle" or "Limitless energy" Ok, so those probably aren't real advertisements, but I have seen some pretty ridiculous ones like "gain 7 pounds in 7 days." That is just unhealthy, period. Remember, if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is. Don't waste your money and certainly don't feed the Animal. What I mean by that is, don't do your part in keeping these companies around. Companies that pray on the naive. An industry that feeds off the vanity of society.

Ok, so your supplement selection was just whittled down by, lets say 85 percent. What should you take now?

Fish oil (pill or liquid)- The list of benefits associated with fish oil is long. Some include: Fat loss, anti-depressant, lowers cholestorol, pain relief, higher intelligence, protection of heart attack. You get the idea. Its pretty impressive stuff.

Multi-Vitamin-Sometimes we simply can't take in all the nutrients we need. This, in my opinion acts as sort of a buffering agent between you and optimal vitamin intake. Vitamins A, B, C, D, E, K etc help regulate our bodies natural funtions.

Creatine- This is likely the most studied supplement of the market, so I will give it the credit it deserves.

Creatine is found naturally in our body, so when people say it's not "all natural to take creatine, they are technically wrong. This supplement has gotten a bad rap in some circles, with critics saying that in can lead to hydration issues and muscle cramping. Recent studies show these claims to be unfounded. Creatine boosts your physical performance by increasing the number of times your ATP (ADENOSINE TRI-PHOSPATE) can be recycled during your intense physical activity sessions without actually increasing the amount of ATP stored in our muscles. The down and dirty, laymens terms? It should increase the amount of work you can do without rest. It can also make you stronger, therefore I advocate cycling on and off it, and following the guidelines suggested on the packaging. I wouldn't worry too much about the water weight you will gain, get over the vanity etc, and just get stronger.

L-Glutamine- This is another great supplement for any athletic quest. Why? Glutamine helps you recover faster, thereby reducing the time spent out of the gym from being too sore to train. It can also increase your growth hormones and better your training.

These are the basics. Stick to these and you're money. Or try steroids for a quick fix. Just kidding, but seriously. Before you begin any supplementation, do your research, ask around and just be smart. Supplements can do alot of good in recover, increase in performance etc, but if neglected, they can do more bad then good.

So what supplements do I take?

Glutamine
Fish Oil
Creatine
Multi-Vitamin
Amino Acids
Occasional Post workout Carbohydrate drink mix
Food

See, pretty simple, and no need to glamorize it with hyped up muscle products.

My Training:
Tuesday 20100720
STRENGTH:
Shoulder Press 5/3/1
5@120
3@130
5@150

"Helen From Hell" "Hellen" Whatever you want to call it, the second workout from the CrossFit Games.

Run 1200 Meters
63 KB Swings
36 Pullups
Run 800 Meters
42 KB Swings
24 Pullups
Run 400 Meters
21 KB Swings
12 Pullups

17:37

A Case of the Mondays

Today didn't really go as planned. I had every intention of going in the gym with a full head of steam. That went well until I finished my front squats. I attempted "Amanda" and to my dismay, the 135 pound snatches were to heavy to rep out for 9-7-5. I chalked it up as practice and hung my head low.

Front Squat
5/3/1

5@275lbs
3@285lbs
3@315lbs

Four Sets:
15 GHD situps
15 Pushups (hands off deck at bottom)
Rest 60 seconds
1):51 Seconds
2):47 Seconds
3):46 Seconds
4):46 Seconds

All Good Must Come to an End

Calm down. Its not the end of my blog. Keep dreaming!

This W.O.T (week of training) has been rough. Five days solid of multiple workouts and very strenuous activity. Like the title says, It has came to and end. Todays training started out with...drum roll please....FRAN.

21-15-9 Reps of this couplet
95lb thrusters
pullups
Previous PR: 3:09
NEW PR!: 2:45

I felt like an absolute train wreck, but it happened, I saw the light at the end of the tunnel and powered through. I literally locked up afterwords. It was incredible.

After I picked myself up and dusted myself off I went right into some Push Jerks: 1-1-1-1-1-1-1

1@135
1@185
1@195
1@205
1@225
1@245
1@260 Failed twice.

I was alittle disappointed, as my previous PR was 255, but I don't sweat the small stuff. A PR on Fran is a HUGE deal.

Post workout nutrition brought to you by: PaleoKits

Until next week, Safe lifting and happy training!

Why I Train

People often ask me, "What are you training for?" or "Why are you training so hard?" My first repsonse is typically, "nothing really." and "No reason in particular." After I have cleaned up and re-racked my weights, it usually gets me thinking, "Why do I train?"

The answer consists of several different reasons. I think the first and foremost is because it is something I whole heartedly enjoy. I get butterflies before every single workout. The emotion I feel as I lace up my shoes and chalk up my hands is indescribable. People may not understand this concept. Why get so excited over something that most people consider a chore or just another part of growing up in a vain society. I look at it as a vacation from the normal. I never understood how people could waste time with things like poker or video games, until I realized that, too them, they aren't waisting time. It is a labor of love for them, and the same goes for me.

The second major reason why I train is the simple fact that, in some areas of my life, I love to be pushed. Discovering where my breaking point is, and attempting to surpass that is a hobby for me. It shows what a person is truly made of. The fact that me, and thousands of others push themselves to break day after day and get right back to it after a nice rest day is a true testament to mankind. There comes a point, for me, when I think of myself as a machine, when performance becomes automatic. Pain exits the room and I am left on my own. It is an indescrible feeling.

The third reason is to break free from the norm. The majority of americans find it much easier to sit and watch than too stand and preform. It gives me alot of pride knowing that I am doing this type of stuff. I so desperatley want to grab the hands of those on the couch, to capture the minds of those glued to the television. I feel that everyone has the power and ability to preform. The hard part is breaking them out of their seditary mold, and introducing them to a life of happiness.

This is why I train. Everyday. I am not just training my body. I train my mind as well. I do it so I can handle the tasks of daily life through love, labor and sanity. Why do you train? Or better yet, Why DON"T you train?

Wednesdays Training:

Warm-up:
3 Rounds
20 Double Unders
10 Jump Squats
5 LaLanne Pushups
Sampson Stretch, Shoulder Dislocates, Trunk Rotation and other
light stretching.

A1) Back Squat 5-4-3-2-1
5@285lbs
4@305lbs
3@315lbs
2@335lbs
1@355lbs
A2)Handstand Pushups x4 (too depth)

REST 10MINUTES

4 Sets of:
12 Burpees
40 Double Unders
Rest three minutes between each.
1) :51
2) :53
3) 1:02
4) :53

The Road Goes On

This is my Official announcement: I am compteting at next years European Sectional. Now its out there and I cant let the people down. I fully intend on going and giving it my all. That is, of course, unless some unforeseeable thing occurs that causes me to miss it. That being said, the journey continues.

Tuesday:
Strength
Deadlift:
3x3
1)290
2)330
3)370
REST 10 MINUTES

Four Rounds
400m Run
50 Squats
10:28

3 Sets
10 Unbroken Power cleans @ 135 pounds
20 Clap pushups
Rest 3 minutes between sets.

Really focused on controlling my breathing and form. It went really well this evening.

Consistancy

While things come and go, there are always a few constants that for the most part remain the same. Looking at it from a military perspective. The Air Force will ALWAYS have the ice cream after dinner. (me excluded) The Marines will ALWAYS take your girl. The Navy will ALWAYS be the wanna be cool kids, and the Army will ALWAYS be the lackey. I say this jokingly of course and I will always have nothing but repect for the men and women of the Armed Services of the United States.

One thing that will truly remain constant: I WILL train.

Rain, sleet, snow or hail. I will find a way to make it work. Luckily, the gym here is nice and I put in work. 5 days a week of focus, dedication and perspiration.

My Training:

Monday:
Some light (135lb) snatch work as a warm up.

Strength:
Front Squat 3x3
1) 285
2) 305
3) 295 (had to drop for safety, No bumpers)



Tuesday:

Felt really good going into and went alittle overboard.

For Time:
"Joshie"
40lb Dumbell Snatchx 21 reps with right arm
21 L-Pullups
40lb Dumbell Snatchx 21 reps with left arm
21 L-Pullups

8:50

Snatches were full squat

REST 10 MINUTES

30 Second Sprints on treadmill with 12 percent incline.
Repeat 8 times, rest 2 minutes between sets
In between sets four and five, rest 8 minutes and preform tabata pushups.
Speeds:
1-7.0
2-7.5
3-7.5
4-8.0

Tabata Pushups: 21, 21, 21, 17, 13, 13, 13, 13

5-8.5
6-8.5
7-8.5
8-9.0

REST 5 MINUTES: 4x15 GHD Situps, 3x15 Unbroken kipping pull ups

I cooled down with some parrallette work for about 5-10 minutes.


What have you done lately?

What's In Your Bag?

The Gym Bag. A smelly, musty and significant part of the gym scene. A useful tool in developing a sound body and mind. It is our toolkit, necessary in recovery and repair. With literally hundreds of thousands of products on the market, we need to sift through the unnecessary and figure out what works for us.

These are the essentials.

1. First and Foremost, Water. Without it, performance diminishes significantly. I shouldn't have to go anymore into it.

2. A correctly sized jump rope. This is crucial for a decent warm up. It trains cardiovascular/respitory endurance and hand eye coordination. Make sure when you're finished you wrap it neatly, because a tangled jump rope can totally throw off your game.

3. A tennis ball, lacrosse ball or foam roller. I'll go more into self massage in a later post, but rolling out your tight spots and knots can significantly improve your range of motion and recovery time. Use it to roll out quads, lats, calfs etc.

4. Chalk. When you're lifting heavy shit, you gotta have a good grip. 'Nuff said. Just don't be the guy that prances around with a cloud of chalk behind him.

5. Proper footwear. Olympic Lifting? Pack some oly shoes. Running? Bring the vibrams. Basic metabolic condtioning? Standard athletic shoes will do. This one is pretty much personal preferance.

6. Post workout food. More often than not, this will be a blend of protein and carbs. The longer the workout, typically the more carbs you'll need. More strength based will require a more protein-centric meal. Keep it simple. Don't bring a microwavable meal to the gym. Cold chicken breasts and a ziploc with some blueberries is good. Chocolate milk is also a great post workout meal.

7. Stopwatch. Especially if most of the workouts require some sort of timing. This can go for strength too. Rest cycles are often 2-3 minutes. Wristwatches work well, and I am a huge fan of the G-Shock series from Casio, but any old watch will do.

8.Athletic tape. When you're busting out a sub 15 Angie (100 pullups, 100 squats, 100 pushups, 100 situps) your hands are literally going to fall apart. A quality athletic tape can help out your grip and provide a barrier between your open sores and the bar.

9. Journal. Record everything you do. Tracking progress is essential in becoming a better athlete.

10. A calculator. Highly recommended for strength days when you need to calculate your one rep max on the fly. Im old school, I bring my abacus, but a simple dollar store calculator will do.

11. Socks. I don't know how many times I had to work out barefoot, not by choice, but because I wore sandals to the gym and completely forgot that socks existed. It's nice to throw an old pair in the bag just in case.

12. Extra shorts. Hell, a whole extra outfit. Again, Just in case.

13. Ipod. Motivation is tough to come by when working out by yourself. I always work out on a different level when Styx is playing in my ear. FInd your songs and crank the tunage.

That is the basic gym bag. It allows for some customization. Advanced or more specialized athletes may need other things like wrist wraps, cleats or boxing gloves, but again, its all personal.

Notice, I didn't mention a few things that we always see in gyms. I didn't say them because they shouldn't be allowed.

1. Gloves: A phsycological crutch. Be a man or woman and develop some calluses so you can slap the shit out of someone when they say your hands are too rough.

2. Books: If you can read while working out you have a serious issue.

3. Protein, Shakers, supplements of any kind: I don't want to be distracted by the sound of a shaking bottle or you gagging on a handful of pills. Save it for home, better yet, stick to fish oil and amino acids. That's it.

A well packed gym bag is a tool chest for the elite athletes and everyday gym goers. Knowing what you have on hand can allow for a more efficient workout. So get packing and hit the weights, buttercup!