The Actionaut

On Sunday, December 12, 2010, I participated, along with 3 other tough guys, in an event called the Spartan Race.
Rather than do the thing on my own, I thought it’d be more fun to have a team (besides saving a few beer bucks on the registration fee and building team spirit).

I like to work towards a goal, and the mere training goals of strength building or hypertrophy didn’t tickle my adrenal glands enough to generate any kind of training fire inside me. While my personal routine didn’t change in preparation of the event, I wanted to prove that I can be ready any time, any day, and that the conditioning I put myself through would be enough. So, the only variable I changed in my training was my diet, which was great because I embarked on a journey I’ve been hearing about and wanted to experience myself after rave reviews. I’m talking about Ori Hofmekler’s Warrior Diet. My personal results have been fantastic and I am glad to endorse it!

Why The Warrior Diet: Switch on Your Biological Powerhouse For High Energy, Explosive Strength, and a Leaner, Harder Body?
Well, for starters, if my own coaches and RKC comrades have been raving about it, it was endorsement enough for me to give it a shot. Designed for efficiency and maximal energy, it seemed like a no-brainer since my journey as a new father has been tough on the eating and sleeping schedule, 2 vital components of any successful fitness program. I directly asked Pavel Tsatsouline, who’s been on it for years I believe, his take on it. While it wouldn’t necessarily pack mass on me, it would give me plenty of energy and time to both work and take care of the baby when my wife needed time for herself and her work, in between my own clients.
Since any balanced diet revolves around insulin management, I was skeptical because all I was ever taught was to eat frequent meals during the day, which prevents overeating and “survival” metabolic slow-down. See, the Warrior Diet has you go through periods of controlled under-eating during the day alternating with over-eating at night.

I can almost see your furrowed brow on one side, raised brow on the other side. Some of your “hmm…” can be heard through the web too!

WHAT’S THE DEAL?
Hofmekler has you eat only live and raw foods during the day. Coffee or tea is allowed. Drink as much water as you want of course. Squeeze some fresh veggies and fruits and guzzle it down, chew on some raw almonds, cashews or pistachios. Hunger is a sign of vitality. Of course, don’t mistake that for an anorexic program! You eat enough to sustain and actually stimulate insulin release and get you going, burning fat and preserving muscle. You can even ingest a protein shake. But don’t stuff yourself like the domestic nomadic Zoo animal our society turned us into. Think predator, hungry, strong and driven to survive and thrive! When a big cat like a lion or a tiger feasts, they eat till satisfied, unsure of when their next meal comes. That’s you at dinner time. Eat till you’re more thirsty than hungry. Follow the VERY HEALTHY order of salad first, then your veggies, then your protein and if you have room, your carbs. Mix and match textures, colors, tastes (crunchy, soft, sweet, sour, savory, green, red, cold, hot…) and eat away. Then, rest up and sleep. While asleep (night time, circadian rhythm), you only use enough calories to rebuild your muscles from your hunt (I mean, training), while stocking up energy for the day ahead.

Think warrior, Roman soldier: when do you have time during battle to take a break and eat. Your adrenaline’s pumping, you’re hungry for life, food but need to stay razor sharp. How do you think you’d do if you felt like after Thanksgiving dinner while trying to slash away at your enemies? Lethargic is my guess. Save that for sleep!

Hofmekler goes into better detail in his book, and I urge you to give it a shot. I wouldn’t if I didn’t try it myself.

COMPARE TO OTHER DIETS
I have always been a fan of the TNT diet, which taught me that we only burn carbs at high physical intensity training (weights, sprints, martial arts, surfing, tennis…) and burn fat when our heart rate is slow/resting (blogging, sleeping, surfing your desk, watching TV…). The Paleo diet adheres to the same principle, though I am no fan of eating liver, kidneys or any other filtration organs and I do mind eating the better cuts of meat. I am picky, I won’t eat certain parts, like the heart or the brain. Sorry, Paleo dieters, you’re better people than I am, and I see no real reason to do this, other than maybe to generate less waste from the animal that “donated” its life.
The Zone diet doesn’t work, because not everyone’s needs are the same. Athletes vs couch potatoes, pregnant vs non-pregnant women, marathon runners vs shot putters. You can’t say we all need 30% fat, 30% protein, 40% carbs. And ultimately, the body reach homeostasis, so why not try something new, that makes sense and is on par with your goals? It even works if you’re not a lifter, and just want a new program. Read it, read Ori’s points and analysis.

WHAT IT DID FOR ME
I started 10 days before my 5K obstacle course in the Malibu mountains, the infamous Spartan Race. By body fat percentage was at 12.5% on a Saturday. On Tuesday, I had dropped 3% body fat at my annual physical exam. My lifts, my energy and my mood have been better. On the day of the race, after completing uphill runs, scaling steep 10′ walls, mud crawls, cold water swim, cargo nets and gladiators with big foam sticks at the finish line, I felt exhilarated, elated and I never got sore nor did I feel more fatigued than after a “medium” intensity workout!

To me, that was validation enough in my eating with the Warrior Diet, as well as my training with kettlebells, powerlifts and natural movement patterns, staples of my (and your) physical fitness development!
(I did run wearing my Vibram Five-Fingers and was glad I did. The grip and agility it gave me, especially after crawling through wet, muddy areas, was a nice welcome compared to wearing soggy sneakers!)

Comments (0) Dec 14 2010

My FAST Philosophy revolves around 4 pillars and a 4-way approach to fitness. The pillars are Fast, Agile, Strong and Toned and the 4 steps are about 4 elements (nutrition, training, hormones, environment), 3 steps (skill development, practice, application), 2 modalities (Ballistics and Grinds, as in the RKC school of strength training) and 1 body (yours).

FLEXIBLE ASSOCIATIONS
When you mention “flexibility”, most people think of yogis, dancers, Pilates instructors and generally very lean body types. Other words associated with flexibility, among others, are “stretching” and for the folks who are not flexible, “pain” and “discomfort” also comes to mind. However, few people think of strength when the word “flexibility” is brought up.

STRENGTH STRETCHING:
Have you ever seen an Olympic lifter lift well over their bodyweight in an overhead lockout and deep squat? The shoulders or fully brachiated, elbows locked, chest open, back flat and straight and buttocks inches from the ground, heels firmly planted. I challenge you to go pick up a broomstick and perform the same movement. Go do it now (insert intermission music here while you try). You back yet? Not so easy, huh?

The overhead squat is a great way to assess a person’s mobility, flexibility and imbalances. Notice that flexibility is only one of the aspects I am focusing on. First of all, flexibility comes from mobility, a.k.a. your ability to move well. Most people confuse stability with stiffness, whereas if I can troubleshoot your movement and teach you how to move better, you will gain better flexibility and overall stability (e.g. the overhead squat requires tremendous flexibility under load while keeping that load -you and the weight- stable). Using the example of the lifter performing an overhead squat, his back is strong, shoulders are very mobile, calves and quadriceps very flexible to allow for proper dorsiflexion while the hamstrings come in contact with the calves at the bottom of the squat without lifting the heels off the ground.

I am not saying a yogi cannot perform such a feat, rather am merely pointing the fact that the ability to move a fridge and do a backbend are not mutually exclusive. As a matter of fact, incorporating heavy lifts into your program will not only build your muscles and allow you to burn more fat, build strength and slow down the aging process, it will help your body become more functional because you are not focused on just one modality.

PROPER STRETCHING INJURY-PROOFS YOUR BODY
Stretching is an activity that, if you’re not good at it, is often overlooked or done improperly, especially if your range of motion is poor. Plus, your mind has trained your body into thinking you can’t go past a certain point. First, assess what your individual needs are. Second, your muscles are like an animal under attack, guarded and braced. Relax the muscles as you would appease the animal and you’re likely to be able to increase your range of motion, as you can pet the fearful animal. One way to relax your muscles is by actually engaging and contracting them. Say you cannot touch your toes. Stand with your knees touching, squeeze your glutes, contract your quads and lats and forcefully push your fists downwards, toward the floor. Repeat the action at every forceful exhale as you inch along towards the ground. It’s OK to bend your knees. Just make sure your butt is dropped below your shoulders before you come back upright.
Now, take a deep breath, exhale and relax into the toe touch. You’ve just gained a few millimeters, or inches, based on your natural level of fitness. By contracting the muscles, you’ve removed the fear of pain and focused on their strength. Upon release, the relieved muscle now is like the calmed animal and goes further into the stretch.

Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation, or PNF, revolves around the concept of contracting the opposite muscles to relax the primary muscle and ease it into further range of motion. Relaxing your muscles into it is a great way to protect your muscles, especially under load when most injuries occur. Loosening up the body by loosening up the joints is a great warm-up prior to any kind of physical activity. Many people stretch before working out not realizing that stretching itself is a workout. Do a round of strength stretching and you might find the need to drop your working weight because of the onset of fatigue. And remember, when fatigued, your muscles are relaxed and if they’re too relaxed, your ability to lift heavy is compromised and you may hurt yourself.

BOTTOM LINE:
Don’t stretch when you warm-up, rather loosen up the joints.
Use tension (strength) when going into a stretch, then relax and instantly increase your range of motion (temporarily at first, gets better with practice).
Stretch after training to restore proper length-tension relationship in the muscles and connective tissue.
Flexibility under load is crucial for injury proofing the body. If you perform heavy lifts without the flexibility and mobility to maintain proper form, you WILL get injured.
If your flexibility is only the result of stretching workouts like Pilates, keep in mind that it is not enough to develop strength or the ability to load your body with heavier weights, as you will not have developed proper leverage skills for your heavy lifts.

To read about pillars 2, 3 & 4, click on the links below:
Pillar 2: Agility.
Pillar 3: Strength.
Pillar 4: Tone.

Comments (3) Oct 06 2010

It is by knowledge and experience that I navigate the oft tumultuous seas of fitness.

Comments (1) Dec 14 2009

It happened again today. It’s not like I shouldn’t expect it, and you’d think I’d learn after all this time. I even thought that after a few hours, I’d cool down a bit and let bygones be bygones. But, seeing as Mondays are usually learning days for me (Tuesdays, I write), while I am listening to a teleseminar hosted by Geoff Neuport, Senior RKC (site: http://kettlebellsecrets.com/specialer.html), interviewing Dan John (http://danjohn.net/) I thought I’d beat the iron while it’s hot.

Comments (0) Dec 07 2009

I just read a good quote that an RKC comrade uses as his signature: In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice, there is.

In theory, it should work

Comments (3) Oct 14 2009