SPARTAN PERFORMANCE                                 CROSSFIT SUFFOLK

Overhead Squat 3-3-3-3-3 reps

WOD Demo with Tommy Hackenbruck and Taylor Richards-Lindsay – video [wmv] [mov](Courtesy of CrossFit.com)

   Micky….23 weeks pregnant and still going strong! 

2012

By George Demetriou

We're always excited to see our athletes with a renewed spirit of training for the New Year.  As a coach it's nice to look back to when an athlete started and see progress being made.  Most athletes put the holidays behind them at about this time and step up the training.  We're looking forward to the 2012 spark!

The begining of the New Year seems to be a fine time to reiterate things you know , but aren't doing or go over information you may not know, but need to, regarding improving strength, conditioning, performance and overall health.  This won't apply to all, but you know who you are.

Number 1 on the list is consistency.  Consistency in training along with consistency in eating in a healthy manner is what is going to have the most impact on improving.  There is nothing controversial here, but I mention it because it's easy to allow life to get in the way of your training.   Some will not be able to help it with work and family obligations.  This is understandable.  Others will make training low on the priority list while being busy doing other things like watching tv, surfing the internet, or "blowing off steam" at the local watering hole.   We do observe that there are athletes with very busy work and family schedules that are often the most consistent in their training and some of the athletes with zero family obligations can't seem to find the time to train more than once a week.  We are often asked "when can we expect to see changes in my body or improvement in my performance?"  The answer will be slightly different depending on the athlete, but when you look around the gym and observe the athletes you admire or are inspired by,  the factor they all share is consistency in training and consistency in proper diet. 

Regardless of who you are, if you train with us you're being trained as if you are an athlete.  If you are not treating yourself like an athlete you're cheating yourself.  Athletes train on a consistent basis.

#2: Proper diet.  When we say proper diet we mean a style of eating that promotes better performance and health for you.  There is so much information out there today concerning nutrition.  We try to bring as much helpful information to you via this blog.  If you follow this blog and our training you should have a reasonable idea of how to eat, what to eat and what not to eat.  When we say for you we mean you have to take the information and customize a healthy eating style that is one you can follow consistently.  We recommend following one of the 30 day paleo programs like Robb Wolf's Paleo Solution or The Whole 30 program from The Whole 9 folks.  These diets will "clean your body" and nourish it at the same time.  These diets are designed to be done strictly, but if you choose to re-introduce items that you sorely miss you'll at least have a better idea of how "forbidden" food affects you personally.  We have observed that there are food items everyone should eat, "food" that nobody should eat and some that are ok for some, but not others.  Another good resource we demand you read is Top Ten Fasting Myths Debunked by Martin Berkhan of Leangains.  You don't have to have any interest in fasting to learn from this article!

Eating is not just about body composition.  It's also about reducing inflammation.  It's about being stronger and having better endurance.  We find that many athletes have a difficult time wrapping their head around the fact that what you eat can actually make you stronger or weaker.  But, it's true!  We also get looked at like we have three heads when we suggest that an athlete's joint pain, that occurs for apparently no reason, may be caused by inflammation brought on by poor food choices and a lack of Omega 3 fatty acids.

The holidays are over.  Get rid of the food that is taking you further from being stronger and healthier and start eating to enhance your training.

As always we welcome your complaints and comments.