Fight Club 2012: Post #1- Its not the size, but how you use it baby! (food that is!)

It’s shift 1 of the fitness challenge and like I said before I will be focusing more on food than workouts on the blog for a bit.... so here we go.

Best rule of thumb that I can think of is- It’s QUALITY not QUANTITY that should be the main concern. What I’ve found in my clients and in reading up on the topic is that when you base it around good quality* foods it is hard to eat too much (calorie wise) and you end up with loads of vitamins and minerals to help with the de-tox effect of burning extra fat.

As far as quantity goes, well there are a few peices that I will throw out there off the hop because they are pretty good accross the board for ppl working out looking to get better at stuff while dropping some fat:

Protein- Strive for 1g of Prot. per POUND OF CURRENT BODY WEIGHT a day. Do it.... Do it. This, I feel should be the priority for your meals. (One ounce of meat has about 7g of protein.

Carbs- Try to keep the carbs to say 50-150g a day, and primarily veggies. Doesn’t sound like much does it? Well I tell ya what, try and see if you can eat that much from just veggies in conjunction with eating your rx of protein for the day. If you are not interested in losing fat then let me know and we can tweak this for you.

Fat- a bit. No need to eat the costco tub of almonds each week, that just won’t work. Keep in moderation and don’t be scared of it.


* What do I mean by Qaulity?
I’m sure you can guess, but here is the reader’s digest version:

- The closer it is to picked or shot the better.
For protein sources typically if it had a face or was intended to (eggs) then it’s good to go- it will have complete protein sources with all the necessary amino acids that we need (that cannot be said for most if not all veggie sources). If losing body fat is one of your goals then I would also lose the protein powders, at least for a bit. I have tried this with ppl from time to time and it still isn’t as effective as good ol’ meat to get the trick done.
For your carb sources, if there is an ingredients list on it and it has more than 1 ingredient... ditch it. Processed foods carry many extra ingredients in them that typically are not great for us and are low in nutrient content. Also with the carb situation that even if there is only one ingredient in it (such as wheat flour, corn starch etc.) and it has been processed down and further increases the insulin effect on your body (not desirable when losing BF).
Fat should be “sprinkled”. At the end of the day calories do count for a bit but the main concern is getting good fats, in as much of a balance as possible. I like to think of it like this- If it is something like ground beef or a fatty peice of meat then don’t add fat to the meal, but if there is only really lean meat sources like chicken breast then why not add a bit of fat to the salad or nuts on the side?
Eat when you are hungry. This can be taken off track pretty easy but the thing is when you eat stick to having a meal and whenever that is have all three- Protein Fat and Carbs. We don’t need to eat 6 times a day, seriously. 3-4 good size meals are fine and typically serve life better as we aren’t in the kitchen as often.

I know this approach might be contrary to what some would want to hear but the reality is is that there are lots and lots of people improving their lives on account of this type of diet everywhere, I hope you will give it a shot and see how you do.

So, here’s the challenge for you. I want you to try this for AT LEAST the first 30 days of the challenge:
Eat meat (lots), veggies (lots), nuts and seeds ( a bit), a bit of fruit (the less the better)
Avoid like the plague: Grains (wheat, rice etc), Dairy (all types), and legumes (beans, soy, peanuts etc.)

This should do for now and get me a bunch of questions rolling. If this sounds like something that will kill you from the saturated fat I encourage you to go get your doc to do some tests right away so that you can compare afterward to see for yourself that this will help you move your markers in the right direction..... actually, even if you don’t care it would be good to do it anyway- it would be interesting to see, don’t you think?

Each shift I will putting more info up to deepen this conversation. If there is a particular area that you feel you want extra focus on then let me know and we’ll see what we can do.

HAPPY HUNTING!

I will also stop puttin g a workout up, but here is one to get you rolling:

A. Back Squat; Work up to a heavy set of 5 reps, then repeat this wt. for 2 more sets of 5. (can be goblet squats instead)

B. Chinups- 3x max reps (use assistance if unable to get at least 10 reps on first set, foot/feet on bench is preferred over using bands)

C. Practice the deadlift; work up to one heavy set of 5 reps (while keeping good form and happy back)

D. Get a good stretch, trouble areas first.

Workout... WFI FITNESS TESTING, DAY 2!

If you have done this already then here is something to keep you sweaty:

A. Back Squat; 5,5,5- use a wt. that is relatively challenging but you are able to complete all reps with super-duper form. Control yourself on the way down then pop yourself back up for each rep.

B. Chinups; 3x Max reps- these should be only strict reps, if unable to do say 5+ reps then do all 3 sets with 1-2 feet on a bench (so that you max out around 10-15 reps). Whatever the assistance is, be sure to keep it the same throughout the 3 sets. THis means you will do less reps per subsequent set and that's OK. DO NOT GIVE YOURSELF MORE ASSISTANCE AS YOU GO TO GET MORE REPS, there is no need for this as it promotes overtraining and can prevent you from doing chinups in a couple days when you need to get back on the bar again- soreness that keeps you away from the gym for a week is bad for business!

C. Swiss Ball Side Bends- 1 set to fatigue for each side- note # of reps per side. Do you have a tendency to curl forward or back? make note then keep it straight.

D. Swiss Ball Crunches- 1 set for max reps, however is most comfortable for you

Thursday Dec. 22/11

Testing Day!

I will be trying to get as many Fitness Tests done as possible today and Dec. 30th.... Be ready for some pinchin'!

Saturday Dec. 17/11

A. 3-5x
5 Pullups (weighted if possible- try to build on the last time we did these)
10 Push Press- weight should not be too heavy, able to do all reps without complication, suggested is up to115#, but add 5-10% to last time.
2:00 rest

-total 5:00 rest

B. 3x
8-10 Bent over Barbell Rows (moderately heavy); no rest
90s Bike Sprint
90s rest

-total 5:00 rest

C. 3x

8-10 Goblet Squats (mod. heavy); no rest
2:00 Row/Run/Bike for distance
2:00 rest

Wed. Dec. 14/11

A1. Sumo-Deadlift; 5,5,5; add 5-10# to last time; 30s rest

A2. 15 Burpees- chest to floor; 2:00 rest

B. 5x

2 Broad Jumps- for distance and/or height

20 KB Swings- to eye level

50' Farmer walk (25' there and back) with foam pails or heavier- walk quick and avoid failure

rest as needed- be fresh for each set so that you can hit it hard each time.

C. 5-10 mins on rower/treadmill/bike at 60-75% effort- get sweaty but don't kill yourself

If you need video of these movements then scroll back over the past few workouts and you should find what you need.

Friday Dec. 9/11

A. 3-5x
5 Pullups (weighted if possible- try to build on the last time we did these)
10 Push Press- weight should not be too heavy, able to do all reps without complication, suggested is up to 95#
2:00 rest.

B. 6-10x:
2-3 clapping/explosive fast pushups every 60s- stop once your speed/recovery starts to decline

C. 3-5x
10 KB Swings to eye level; 60s rest -should be moderately heavy but terrible- up to 55#
10 Wall Balls; 60s rest - should be a weight you can do a steady set right through, ideally up to 20# and a 10' target.
If you feel awesome right through then great, if you feel yourself powering out/slowing down/needing to decrease the wt. then finish that round and call it a day.

Push Press:


Explosive Pushup:

Tuesday Dec. 6/11

A. Back Squat; 5,5,5; rest as needed (2-3mins?) (shoot to add 5-10# from last time you did these)

All 3 sets should be tough with the last one being right around your previous 5RM, beating it by a few #'s would be good...

B. 6-10x

Every 60s perform 2 Broad Jumps quickly for max distance...

so on the min you jump 2x then rest until the min is up. (be sure to have good footwear and be in a dry area to avoid a catastrophic slip potential!) Also, if your distance starts to lessen/are unable to recover in time for subsequent round then stop these and move on acter that set.

C. 5x

8-10 Bar Dips (Bench Dips or Pushups if needed)

30s Max rep Switch Lunges (or alternating lunges)

2:30 Rest

For the Dips start out at bodyweight and add 10# per set AS LONG AS YOU CAN DO ALL 10 REPS QUICK AND STRONG- if you end up only doing 8-9 or even if you are questionable about the next increase then keep with the same wt. Avoid decreasing wt. if possible, if you need to I would rather the reps went down and intensity stayed the same... that being said if you end up doing less than 8 reps for a set then switch it over to DB Shoulder Press.. main thing is to change it up.

For the SL's it's OK to end up with a bit left in the tank at the end of each set, ideally they would be quick and the reps would prove to be taxing not the sheer weight of the movement.... so, don't worry about adding wt.

Broad Jumps:

Dips: