200 Calories of Food

A while back, an article in The Atlantic went around with pictures of 200 calories of various types of food. It linked back to an app called "Calorific" that contains, apparently, a full database of these images.

There was some talk about food shaming surrounding this post, which I think is absurd. I could go on a whole diatribe about how annoying I find it that, recently it seems, just making someone aware of decisions and consequences and telling the truth (if you over eat, you're going to gain weight) is now seen as shaming. It's facts. Just don't be a dick about it (hey, lard-o, you really gonna eat that?). 

Anyway....

It's easy to put this much cheese and mayonnaise on a sandwich. 

So I really liked this imagery. Let's say you want a 600 calorie dinner: based on the few images on the page I could have half an avocado, most of a bagel, and presumably some meat. Not bad. Oh, notice how you would need to take a larger chunk out of the donut than the bagel to skim it down to 200 calories. That's useful to know. 

I love a good donut, but you can generally eat more of the bagel for the same calorie punch.
Just watch how much mayo you put on either.

But then another Atlantic article recently came out, same idea, this time of Christmas foods. 

This one makes me sad. 

There is only one holiday time of year that gets this intense with festivities and breaks from school and work. And let's face it, many times when family gets together, it's around food. Food is the natural ice breakers for interacting with family that you don't see often. 

You know what? Eat the food if you want to. 

I'll be having AT LEAST something like this around the holidays.
Multiple times.

If you've been eating bad all year, this one week won't move the needle either way, through deprivation or over indulgence. The holiday season is stressful enough, with expectation from family, friends, work. Travel, vacation, gifts, the whole nine yards. 

It's okay, eat the food. 

Don't beat yourself up. Don't crash diet afterwards. And please, please, please, don't do a detox or cleanse. 

Bulletproof? Eating Shouldn't Be That Hard!

That doensn't mean it's EASY per se, because anytime you have to change a habit (or when we talk about eating it's usually multiple habits and triggers) we generally have a tough go at it.

That is a conversation for another time, though.

What I take beef with (mmm.... beef) is the whole Bulletproof THING that has been gaining more and more notoriety. I credit The Bulletproof Executive for stopping me with my whole Paleo journey.

You see, about three or four years ago when I was just starting out on this whole coaching journey, I figure I should start walking the walk a little more and decided to go Paleo/Primal. I cut out gluten and legumes, I only had dairy in the form of cheese, no more soy, no more sugar or artificial anything. ManFriend and I even hired a cook to prep our meals for the week so that we wouldn't fall off the wagon in a hungry, nothing-in-the-fridge situation.

That lasted for at least 8 months. I looked great at USAW Nationals. But I lifted like shit.

So skinny. And so weak. (That's 93 kg)

I felt like I was missing something. I did WellnessFX testing and got recommendations about what supplements I should be taking. I was told that maybe I had adrenal fatigue. My searching eventually led me to The Bulletproof Executive. That's when  fuse blew. I was reading about all these RULES to being optimal. It was like.... if Methodists are Paleo, then the Bulletproof Executive are Orthodox Catholic.

I grew up in Texas, okay? Leave me alone.

That ended it. Fuck Paleo! This is stupid! Eating shouldn't be this HARD!!!


The Bulletproof Diet has seemed to come more mainstream now. And even I'll admit, butter coffee is delicious. It's got a nice frothiness to it and keeps you humming. But I never bought into the whole mycotoxin fear-mongering, or the need to buy special MCT oils. And in the end, it was too much work to blend my coffee in the morning when I have about 20 minutes to wake up and get out of the house. (extra sleep >>> making fancy coffee)

Lately I came across this article from the website posted to Facebook, as a way to help people start their Bulletproof journey. I'm just going to take issue with a few points:

1) Eliminate sugar (including fruit juices and sports drinks that contain HFCS, honey, and agave) .

So apparently we have a "sugar is toxic" person here. I can get behind removing liquid calories for some people because they end up taking in too many calories this way and never feeling satiated. But frankly, that goes for Bulletproof coffee, too. Butter vs sugar? It's all calories and how you psychologically respond to it.

2) Replace the sugar calories with healthy fats from the Bulletproof Diet such as grass-fed butter, ghee,Brain Octane™,  Upgraded™ MCT oil, or coconut oil.

See #1

3) Eliminate gluten in any shape or form.  This includes bread, cereal, and pasta.  Do not make the mistake of resorting to gluten free junk food, which can be almost as bad.
4) Remove grains, grain derived oils, and vegetable oils such as corn, soy, and canola.  Also remove unstable polyunsaturated oils such as walnut, flax, and peanut oil.

Look, I don't care if you eliminate gluten. Just like I don't care if you eliminate meat. But don't try to tell me that it's universally healthier for humanity. It just isn't true. I've had people tell me to eliminate it for a month or two and see who awful I feel when I put it back in my diet. The funny thing is, I've done exactly that, with no difference! 

9) Switch to grass-fed meat and wild caught seafood.  Eat pastured eggs and some pork, chickens, turkeys, and ducks.10) Switch to organic fruits and vegetables.  This is more important for some plants than others.  See thissite for details.

Let's all go broke just to be some false sense of optimal. 

11) Cook your food gently, if at all.  Incorporate water into your cooking whenever possible and use low temperatures.  Do not use a microwave or fry.

Anyone with any understanding of evolution knows that cooking meats (and some vegetables) allowed us to access their nutrients and evolve to the (cough cough) highly intelligent creatures we are now. 

Also, this bullet point at the end:

• High healthy fat intake is optimal.  General ranges are 50-80 percent fat, 5-30 percent carbohydrate, and 10-30 percent protein.

Which, dammit all to hell, is so wrong on so many levels. If' you've read my recent blogs, you know why I take issue with this. 

I get it when people try to say that science moves forward and teaches us things that we once thought were right are now wrong. But that new learning is usually in the nuances of how our biochemistry works. 

At one point people vilified fat because, well, it seemed obvious that putting fat in our system would make us fat. We eventually found that to be a false story line. Really, eating a lot of fat just packed calories into our diet easier. But rather than take this easy moderate approach, people with an agenda are trying to say we had to completely backwards. We didn't. We just didn't have the details. 

I'd like to leave you with an article that explains much better than I could why the Bulletproof diet is such a sham: 

The Bulletproof Diet: simplistic, invalid, and unscientific

Nutrition Resources

As I mentioned in my last post, many people have come to ask me about my nutrition coaching, how I like it, how I feel, and ask if they should also look into nutrition coaching.

My answer is usually along the lines of:

I'm doing this because I'm older now and trying to squeeze a few more competitive years out of myself. I think I have my training dialed in pretty well, and the only stumbling block left is my nutrition. And much like programming, it's so much easier to have someone else just tell you what to do and hold you accountable rather than try to figure it out yourself and cheat yourself.

That said, if you're a casual exerciser, not competitive, you probably don't need to drop the money on a nutrition coach just like you probably don't need to drop the money on a sport specific coach. So, here are the resources I think everyone should look into:

1) Eat To Perform

At eattoperform.com, there is a blog, a forum for people to bounce ideas around, a members-only area, and (this is important) a calorie and macros calculator to help you get started on your If It Fits Your Macros (IIFYM) journey.

They also have an e-book out that I think is really good and can help you get the information down in a concise manner, rather than digging through all the blog posts and forums. If you join as a member, there are admins in the forums that can help you get started with macros calculations and tweaks based on your data and experiences.

They are definitely more Paleo driven than my other resources, which makes some people very happy, and people like me kind of roll my eyes. Irregardless of your stance on Paleo and "clean eating", it's a good place to start.


2) Renaissance Periodization

I've actually not followed their blog, but I know a few people who have been working with them and have gotten great results. I've started reading their e-book (got side tracked) and everything so far is super solid. The book isn't on their website, but you can get it through JTS by clicking here.

Dr. Mike Israetel, who I think is the head honcho at RP, has a lecture series on YouTube that I think is just great, click here to watch.

The only possible downside is that the one athlete I've talked to about her diet specifics says she is FUCKING SICK OF RICE, but I don't know if they are of the "clean eating" camp or if that is part of her personalized plan. Either way, it's basically IIFYM, and they will break up to what your macros should looks like for each meal.


3) Alan Aragon's Research Review

If you enjoy the science behind nutrition and training research (and I mean real research, not just Googling something), this review is a great introduction to the science behind it and how it's all progressing. It's $10 a month, a new review is posted every month, and with membership you also get access to all of the back issues.

You can find a free sample of the AARR HERE.

Each review has a comprehensive over view of new research that has come out, noting the results, strengths, and weaknesses of each study, also pointing out how results to translate to real world use. There are also guest authors who write about training, diet protocols, or more basic health things such as "What celebrities do and don't understand about nutrition."


4) Get Coached! 

Okay, so you've looked at all the resources here. You've laid out your macros according to various calculators, but you can't seem to get yourself to stick to it. Or maybe you sabotage yourself when doing the calculations because of inherent biases you hold. Go ahead and get a coach!

Obviously I'm a big fan of Joy Victoria, as I've been working with her for close to two months now and feel great for it! You can access her contact information HERE.

Nutrition Coaching Update

I've had a hard time getting myself to write blogs lately. As evidenced by the dearth of entries in the past month. However, I've had many people come up and ask me about how my nutritional coaching is going and would I recommend them doing something similar.

So here is my update on working with Joy Victoria.

We've been working for closing in on two months now. For the first five weeks we did a maintenance diet where I would get used to tracking my food in a different manner and making sure my body was truly at maintenance and used to the new food ratios. You can read about that HERE.

This is the change in physique before starting the calorie cycling.
Carbs for the win!

Now we've been doing a calorie cycling program for about two weeks. Three days at a lower calorie level, small deficit, and then one day at maintenance. This has been a particularly interesting process because at first I didn't think much was happening. For the first ten days or so, my weight didn't change, it stayed fluctuating between 179 and 181 lbs.

Then, I was scheduled to have a high calorie day on a Tuesday. That morning I weighed in at 180.6 lbs, the higher end of my natural oscillation. I thought, "well, I can't stay at a deficit for forever, that will ruin my lifting, so whatever. Eat more cereal and trust the process."

The next morning I weighed in at 178.2 lbs. After a day of eating an "extra"100 g of carbs.
The following morning I weighed in at 177.6 lbs.
The following morning (today) I weighed in at 176.7 lbs.
Ummm... so much for it not working. I guess I just needed a bit of time for my body to adjust.

I'm actually not thrilled to suddenly be 4 lbs lighter. My mentality is one of "OMG, I'm wasting away and might lose my gainz!" I'm trying very hard to reserve judgement on this until I've trained today and see how I perform on Sunday. So far, this weight loss and calorie cycling hasn't adversely affected me:

Log PR at 202 lbs. Did 200 a couple weeks prior, so a baby PR, but I'll take it! Thanks to @onestrongnurse for the video and encouragement! @the_jon_andersen_ifbb_pro @jonandersenscomplex #deepwater #strongman #strongishappy #strongwoman #splitjerk

A video posted by Kristin Newman (@strength_geek) on Dec 12, 2014 at 9:50am PST

Who knows why I suddenly dropped weight over the past 3-4 days, despite not doing anything different from when my weight was stable. The body is kind of weird when it comes to change. Weird as in, it doesn't like it much and behaves accordingly.

Next up: Resources for people who want guidance themselves.

Adrenal Fatigue: Fact or Fiction

Two articles poo-pooing on "adrenal fatigue":

Glenn Beck: Adrenal Fatigue

Adrenal Fatigue and Starvation

I'd rather not take a side on it. I just don't know enough. But here is my experience:

Back when I was new to being a trainer and coach, I was also doing the WellnessFX testing. My first test went smashingly, I learned a lot of interesting information about what my body was missing and how I could eat to fix it. Actually, I learned that my lifestyle had me doing a lot of things right.

We (me and the ManFriend) used this as a baseline to then start on our Paleo/Primal eating journey. We even hired a chef to cook our food for the week to make sure there was no chance of slipping.

I was also limiting my carbs at the time because I was trying to stay at 165lbs for weightlifting, and then I just knew that it was about limiting "bad calories". Bad calories were high glycemic index carbs and anything Robb Wolf called bad.

Then the second WellnessFX testing showed me as basically healthy, except for some markers of stress and potentially high cortisol.

"Well, I have been feeling anxious lately. And I don't sleep well," I told the nutritional counselor.

"It looks like your diet here is really good. But you might be suffering from adrenal fatigue. Here are some suggestions and supplements I would have you take to treat that."

So I listened and tried and told myself things were getting better.
--------------------

They weren't really getting better. Once I stopped the whole Paleo thing, the random anxiety and feelings of panic definitely subsided. But I was still being restrictive in my eating because I, again, just knew that certain things were "good" and certain things were "bad."

When I decided that I should stop trying to be 165 lbs for weightlifting and just get up to 180 lbs (the top of the middle weight class for strongwoman) I had more good effects. But, again, I was still being super selective about my food (particularly my carbs) because I just knew that carbs would make the bloat and inflammation come on.

Then I got tired of having a meh physique, and hired a nutrition coach to help me out. First thing? Up the carbs A LOT. Double what I was doing (160g/day to 299g/day). And in the first two weeks I lost two inches around my waist without losing any weight. Why? As she explained, when you restrict carbs too much, especially for people who train hard, you're going to see an increase in cortisol, which is a culprit for water retention and fat accumulation

(See also: lack of sleep, cortisol, and body fat.)

I would say that those experiences that led to a "diagnosis" of adrenal fatigue are mostly gone (constant sleepiness, needs for naps, random panic or anxiety). I still have anxiety around waking up when I set my alarm and get poor sleep on those nights, but now I fall asleep faster and wake up later in the night. I don't feel the need for midday naps like I did from earlier in the year. I even try to nap and I get antsy.

So is adrenal fatigue a thing? I don't know. But I'm pretty sure I didn't have it, and like many self diagnoses, is probably way over blown from what actually occurs.

Training Shift to Prepare for the Arnold

I haven't talked much about what's been going on in my own training as the realization that I'm actually going to The Arnold sets in. What also sinks in is that I have a huge discrepancy between what I'm good at (plant my feet and pick something up over and over and....) and what I'm bad at (pick something up and move my feet as fast as I can).

Also, I want to concurrently train my ass off and hide under a rock.

Now I'm trying to juggle not letting my Olympic lifts go to shit, while I get better at the strength and speed necessary to be competitive in Strongman. And it's certainly changed my approach to my event days on Sunday.

First thing I have to do is get my upper body stronger. So I've started a real basic linear progression with my strict press. I've learned through powerlifting that I have the bench multiple times a week if I'm going to make any progress on my upper body (Westside did not work so well for me there). So I do a progression where in one week at one weight I'll do 5x3, 4x4, and 3x5. If I make all my reps, I get to go up in weight the next week. I've moved my working weight slowly from 95lbs to a whopping 110 lbs so far.

I haven't talked much about what's been going on in my own training as the realization that I'm actually going to The Arnold sets in. What also sinks in is that I have a huge discrepancy between what I'm good at (plant my feet and pick something up over and over and....) and what I'm bad at (pick something up and move my feet as fast as I can). Also, I want to concurrently train my ass off and hide under a rock. Now I'm trying to juggle not letting my Olympic lifts go to shit, while I get better at the strength and speed necessary to be competitive in Strongman. And it's certainly changed my approach to my event days on Sunday. First thing I have to do is get my upper body stronger. So I've started a real basic linear progression with my strict press. I've learned through powerlifting that I have the bench multiple times a week if I'm going to make any progress on my upper body (Westside did not work so well for me there). So I do a progression where in one week at one weight I'll do 5x3, 4x4, and 3x5. If I make all my reps, I get to go up in weight the next week. I've moved my working weight slowly from 95lbs to a whopping 110 lbs so far. A video posted by Kristin Newman (@strength_geek) on Nov 11, 2014 at 2:28pm PST Yes, I can barely press 110lbs for a set of 5, but I can jerk more than 230lbs. Just add legs. Other than adding strict pressing, I'm doing a lot more deadlifting, mostly adding in the trap bar to practice a more upright position. I think I am more upright with a trap bar deadlift than I am with my squats. Fucking femurs. On event day, I'm being a little more "reckless" with my work. By that I mean, I'm not playing it safe anymore. Like I said, moving events are my worst, and on event day training I would be super careful and mindful about my positions, steps, grip, set up, etc. I wanted to make sure I got everything JUST right. But that also meant that I moved more cautiously and slower than I normally would. So now, I just grab the fucking handles/yoke/keg and take off. As long as the implement is on my body, I'm trying to accelerate. This means I drop stuff more often right now, but I'm getting a much better sense of where that edge is.

I haven't talked much about what's been going on in my own training as the realization that I'm actually going to The Arnold sets in. What also sinks in is that I have a huge discrepancy between what I'm good at (plant my feet and pick something up over and over and....) and what I'm bad at (pick something up and move my feet as fast as I can). Also, I want to concurrently train my ass off and hide under a rock. Now I'm trying to juggle not letting my Olympic lifts go to shit, while I get better at the strength and speed necessary to be competitive in Strongman. And it's certainly changed my approach to my event days on Sunday. First thing I have to do is get my upper body stronger. So I've started a real basic linear progression with my strict press. I've learned through powerlifting that I have the bench multiple times a week if I'm going to make any progress on my upper body (Westside did not work so well for me there). So I do a progression where in one week at one weight I'll do 5x3, 4x4, and 3x5. If I make all my reps, I get to go up in weight the next week. I've moved my working weight slowly from 95lbs to a whopping 110 lbs so far. A video posted by Kristin Newman (@strength_geek) on Nov 11, 2014 at 2:28pm PST Yes, I can barely press 110lbs for a set of 5, but I can jerk more than 230lbs. Just add legs. Other than adding strict pressing, I'm doing a lot more deadlifting, mostly adding in the trap bar to practice a more upright position. I think I am more upright with a trap bar deadlift than I am with my squats. Fucking femurs. On event day, I'm being a little more "reckless" with my work. By that I mean, I'm not playing it safe anymore. Like I said, moving events are my worst, and on event day training I would be super careful and mindful about my positions, steps, grip, set up, etc. I wanted to make sure I got everything JUST right. But that also meant that I moved more cautiously and slower than I normally would. So now, I just grab the fucking handles/yoke/keg and take off. As long as the implement is on my body, I'm trying to accelerate. This means I drop stuff more often right now, but I'm getting a much better sense of where that edge is.

A video posted by Kristin Newman (@strength_geek) on Nov 11, 2014 at 2:28pm PST

Yes, I can barely press 110lbs for a set of 5, but I can jerk more than 230lbs. Just add legs.

Other than adding strict pressing, I'm doing a lot more deadlifting, mostly adding in the trap bar to practice a more upright position. I think I am more upright with a trap bar deadlift than I am with my squats. Fucking femurs.

On event day, I'm being a little more "reckless" with my work. By that I mean, I'm not playing it safe anymore. Like I said, moving events are my worst, and on event day training I would be super careful and mindful about my positions, steps, grip, set up, etc. I wanted to make sure I got everything JUST right. But that also meant that I moved more cautiously and slower than I normally would.

So now, I just grab the fucking handles/yoke/keg and take off. As long as the implement is on my body, I'm trying to accelerate. This means I drop stuff more often right now, but I'm getting a much better sense of where that edge is.

More updates and videos to come as the months progress!

Three Week Update: Nutrition Coaching with Joy Victoria

Even coaches need coaches, and I hired a nutrition coach. You can read about my introduction to it all HERE.

So now I'm looking at about week 3. Two and a half, kind of, since I got the macros on a Monday and it wasn't until mid-week that I was actually getting anywhere close to hitting the right proportions. But it's been a couple of full weeks now, and the numbers, logic, and intuition are getting easier and easier.

A sampling of macros from the last week. Mon-Thurs

Progress

My goal was to stay around 183 lbs and work towards recomposition. We all know that calories in and and calories out is the main key to weight changes, but to get started she put me on a maintenance diet to get me used to following rules. Since I would just eat when I was hungry, and therefore usually make not the best choices, this part was all about getting my habits to line up with my goals.

What surprised me was that things seemed to be changing even though I'm on a maintenance level diet. This is around 2650 calories divided up to 45% carbs, 35% fat, and 25% protein. My scale weight hasn't budged, which was expected, but my waist is down 2 inches, my thigh down 1 inch, and my butt and chest/back haven't changed.

It's like my body is thanking me for the surge of carbs.

Changes I've Had to Make

Protein
This one wasn't hard. At 166 g a day (0.9 g/lb body weight), I was already getting about that much anyway. Eggs, chicken, fish, milk, protein powder to fill it in. The hard part was how much of my preferred protein sources (salmon, steak, eggs) also come attached to significant quantities of fat....

Fat
This is where I had to make some changes I never thought I'd make. For instance, I drink a lot of coffee. And in every cup of coffee I usually put in about 2 tablespoons of heavy cream. THAT ADDS UP TO A LOT OF FAT! So now I use a fat free half and half. It's not quite as tasty, but I'm not cutting back my morning coffee runs. After all, I'm stopping at noon.

Out of the question.

Other changes I never thought I'd make and did:
 - Skim milk instead of whole milk
 - Low fat cheese
 - Removed nightly avocado
 - Using a combo of whole eggs and egg whites for quiche

Carbs
 This one was a big change, too. Since I was told to put the bulk of my carbs in the evening, I was trying to shove something around 250 grams of carbs into my facehole before bed. This didn't work. I decided to add potato to my morning quiche to make the number a little more attainable.

Even still, I'm having about 1.5 cups of white rice with my dinner, then finishing the night off with 2 cups of blueberry frosted mini wheats with skim milk for dessert. Dessert. I'm eating "dessert" of sorts!

A BIG part of my diet right now! 

The hardest part of all this is that you don't really get any one macro in isolation of another. My cereal has a little protein and fat in it. My protein powder has a little fat. My skim milk is carbs and protein. So I have to really plan my day out ahead of time and fiddle with the proportions to get it as close as I can. Then I have to commit to eating both ALL of this and ONLY this.

I had one off binge, and that was last night.

After a particularly heavy session at strongman training that both went really well and felt really really draining. I had other things I had to do on Saturday so I still had to cook on Sunday. ManFriend comes home and I get him to help me out with the food prep, but still. I'm exhausted and want to bask on the couch in my happy exhaustion.

So I think... "I've barely had any drink since I started this meal plan, I'm having a freakin' glass of wine as I cook!"

Which led to.... "WINE IS DELICIOUS! I'M DRINKING ALL THE WINE!"

Which then led to... "I'M DRINKING THE WHOLE BOTTLE OF WINE AND EATING THIS HANDFUL OF CHEESE!"

Classic story of feeling deserving of a "treat" and then things snowballing from there.

By Request: What does it mean to brace into a belt?

I'm sure most people have heard at least one of the following:

"Keep your core tight."
"Brace your core around your spine."
"Suck your belly into your spine."
"Draw your core in toward your spine."

In my previous article on the who, what, why, and how of using belts I mentioned that you want to brace your abs OUT against the belt. And I had someone ask me what that meant, as it seems a little counterintuitive considering many other cues we usually give and hear.

When it comes to body weight movements, planks and push ups, the way we think to brace the core is right along the lines of the above cues. But when we start lifting heavy weights, we have to think about creating even more tension in the core, and we do this through increasing intra abdominal pressure.

The fancy term for this is the Valsalva Maneuver. From the online Merriam Webster Dictionary:

:  a forceful attempt at expiration when the airway is closed at some point; especially :  a conscious attempt made while holding the nostrils closed and keeping the mouth shut (as for the purpose of adjusting middle ear pressure) —called also Valsalva

So you've probably done the Valsalva maneuver in an airplane or while scuba diving. But in the gym, the cues we use are "Take a big breath and get tight around it." 

You would never be cured to do this during handstands or planks. But I hope you've heard this for deadlifts, squats, and Olympic lifts. The reason this is so effective is this chest full of air give our core muscles something to brace around. 

What the belt does is allow this process to be even more effective. 

I'll usually use the cue of "breath into the belt" or "breath against the belt." So you're bringing air deep into the lungs, the belt is "in the way" and through this tension between your Valsalva breathing and the belt you get extra core tightness. 

Just as with the belt, I don't use the Valsalva maneuver with newer athletes. I'm not going to be taking someone to rep maxes within their first couple of months in the gym, so I generally want them tight and breathing intuitively. When they start asking me about how they should be breathing during a lift, and they almost always do a few months in, that's when I explain most of this. 

When, Why, and How of Using a Belt for Lifting

I know I've talked about this before. A little over a year ago, I wrote about this, and you can read that  HERE.

Recently we were tasked with doing a three rep max in my class at San Francisco CrossFit. Jami Tikkanen, who does our strength programming, had us doing a gentle but consistent lifting program for the previous 6 weeks and now it was time to get a grasp of where we had progressed to.

At the beginning of the class, I pulled out my three belts and gave a quick spiel on when to start using a belt, why you should consider using a belt, which ones I like to use and which ones are popular with different people. Here is what I covered in a little more detail:

WHY?

Won't I get stronger/ won't my core be stronger if I keep lifting without a belt?

Not necessarily.

What a belt actually does is allow your core to brace against something, thereby actually creating MORE core muscle engagement than without a belt. That means your core can get stronger using a belt than not using a belt.

Now that your core is bracing against something and is better engaged (ie: GET TIGHT!) your body can put more focus on the task at hand, be that pressing, pulling, or squatting. That's a big reason that weights feel "lighter" when you put the belt on, bracing happens more fully and attention can be paid elsewhere.


WHEN?

Not for the beginner athlete. It's important for those new to training to learn position and proprioception and not rely on a belt to create that sensation for them.

And not all the time either. Even if you usually lift with a belt, it's good to lift without one occasionally and see if your strength gains are universal. For me they certainly are, and it's nice to test/know.

I tell people that they should start using a belt when they feel like they want to. They've progressed far past the point of a beginner's easy gains, and they are starting to feel the taxing nature of a consistent strength program.

Even then, I suggest they don't put on the belt until they are around 80-90% of their working weight for that session. I suggest this so that they both get the unbelted experience, and it's a nice mental relief when the belt goes on and the weights are already heavy.


HOW?

Tight. Not "cinch your body in half" tight, but you shouldn't have to distend you stomach at all to brace against the belt.

I suggest to first timers to hand tighten it around the smallest part of the torso, then push it down over the lower part of the stomach to make it a little tighter. Shove how ever much of a power belly you have over top of it.

If you're using a thicker belt, you might have to use a post to help get it undone simply because of how stiff they are. I never use a post with my thinner, more flexible belts.


WHICH ONE?

Side view FYI

Most women like the soft belts. The style by Schiek, above, is particularly popular. Because women have much less room between their hip bone and their bottom rib, and these belts are contoured, they won't pinch and leave bruises. Also, since they are a little wider in front than on the side, it feels like you have something more to brace against without digging into your stomach.

For those new to the belt game, this is the one I most often suggest. You can find it at nearly any sporting goods place for about $25. I bought one my first year of competitive weightlifting from a Sports Basement and it lasted me four years. When buying one, know that for weightlifting it can only be 4 inches wide in the back. This one, with the narrow front and side, should also not pinch ribs on short torsos and the leather gives some people feeling like they can brace better.

These are the types of belts you'll most often see worn by powerlifters and strongmen competitors. They are usually 10mm thick, very stiff, and the same width all the way around. Yon can get them in a prong style like a normal belt, or you can get the lever style (on the left) which allows you to quickly tighten and loosen. This one always leaves bruises on my hip bones and lower ribs.


Go forth and get swole!

Ballet to Barbells: Using a Mirror

As a dancer I grew up constantly using the mirror to check my form and movements.

Now I work at two very well coached CrossFit gyms and there are no mirrors.

Between these experiences were gym, studios and dojos with various mirror having capabilities. Obviously, no mirrors in a judo dojo, that could get dangerous quick. Mirrors lines every wall of the student REC center and every 24 Hour Fitness I encountered.

Arguments For Mirrors

First and foremost, it's nice to see that your form is right when you execute a movements. Corners with mirrors are nice because typically you can situate yourself in a way to see your profile while not having to crane your neck. And let's face it, a neutral neck is obviously ideal, but doing a few practice reps with a turned or lifted head while at light weight isn't going to be a problem.

Several times, I've had to take an on boarding client to see their reflection in the window of a neighboring building. Sometimes, even after video proof of a wonky position, they can't make the right adjustments. Seeing the cause and effect in real time through their reflection makes things click.

Also, who doesn't like how their muscles look after a hard workout? It can be a rush. And you might say "Oh, I look terrible, my hair is all messy and I'm sweating every where," but just under the surface you're thinking, "Fuck yeah. I worked my ass off and you can tell!"


Arguments Against Mirrors

The obvious argument in CrossFit is that we aren't body builders and exercise isn't performance art. (Yeah, tell that to all those Insta-famous peeps.) You should be focusing on function over physique and not wasting you time gazing at your reflection.

Not a CrossFitter. 

And having taught ballet classes in the past, I can tell you that it can be tough to get student attention when they are futzing with their hair or clothes in the mirror. And even in my dance studios, they would hang a curtain in front of the mirror in the month or two before a performance to make sure you weren't too reliant on it.

There is also the expense associated with putting them in and replacing then WHEN they get broken. Any gym that has bumper plates (meaning the bars WILL be dropped) and medicine balls that are intended to throw are going to be a danger zone for any surface covered in glass. Why put that much money down on something that should only be used during the learning phase.


My Favorite Mirror Use Experience

I used to have a few clients at DIAKADI. What they did, instead of attaching mirrors to the walls, they had a few full length mirrors on rolling stands. So if you needed to use a mirror with a client for form check and teaching something new, you could roll one over. Then turn it around the the non-mirror side when done. You could even angle a couple of them so that the client could see themselves in profile for movements like hinges and squats.

They were generally tucked in a nook out of the way, or flipped around with the mirror towards the wall when not in use. Kept them from being distracting. I'd love to see more gyms implement this use of mirrors. It would certainly make it easier for some of our "proprioceptively challenged" clients and members to get what we keep harping on them to do.

Stop standing like an asshole!
Your rounded T-spine makes you look like a goddamn desk jockey!

Difficulties in Motivation: It's a Human Condition

Have you ever read Hyperbole and a Half?

If so, do you have her book?

Okay, good.

But what I'm really here about right now is our struggles with motivation, and I'd like to start with a comic strip from the above blog (which is, again, really amazing on so many levels).

I was reading this both laughing to myself and totally aghast. How was this absolute stranger so perfectly describing my issues with procrastination. For instance, I see everyday I go to the car that my registration is about to expire. I see the DMV reminder letter on my desk by the computer. And I don't do anything about it. It's not even a smog test year, I can do this online. The deadline passes, and now I have to go to the DMV. Or, actually, I wait until I get a fix it ticket. True story.

Then it struck me. The author writes about her struggles with motivation as though this self-destruction is unique to her. But I see it in myself all the damn time. And I bet other people do to, which is why this comic-blog is so popular.

We all have these absurdly easy things we feel we should do with our time. There are the things we have to do and just don't until the consequences are in our face. And how many of us totally beat ourselves up over these perceived screw ups? Each time we do that, beat ourselves up, it only going to prompt us to dive our heads into the sand the next time a similar "choice opportunity" presents itself.

I hear this negative self talk a lot:

"I totally screwed up over the weekend and ate all these pastries."
"I was terrible and didn't go to the gym like I said I would."
"I get so upset with myself each time I do____"

So give yourself a break. We're all in this together. So if you work with me as your coach or trainer, talk to me about it, let's have a good laugh at our human foibles, and then get back on track. Until next time.

Trying New Things: I Hired a Nutrition Coach

Joy Victoria

Personal Trainer and Nutrition Coach

Facebook Page

Website: Fitness Baddies

Even coaches need coaches. 

And I hired a nutrition coach. 

As a fitness professional, I can help the "average person" with their nutrition. I've tried a lot of fad diets and I can speak from experience about them. I've had disordered eating in the past, I've tried ketogenic, Paleo, carb back loading, etc. I understand that for the vast majority of people, it's going to be about calories and portion control. And how one goes about reining in their calories is about individual variations in psychology around food. 

So if I get that calories in and calories out is the biggest piece, and macro nutrient ratios is the next biggest piece, why did I hire a coach to help me with it?

Like I said: psychology. 

I used to do my own strength programming. And for the 1+ year after shoulder surgery, that was fine. I would make progress until I didn't, change it up a bit, then continue making progress. No problem. But when the gains started coming slower, I started getting frustrated and that would cloud my judgement in making alterations to my program. That's when I started following the Cal Strength club program. 

I'm at the same point with my eating. I'm older now, and these things matter more. Nutrition and recovery are so intertwined, that I knew if I let my emotions cloud my food choices, I'd only be hobbling myself. 

So I get my initial plan...

Let's start this by saying, intellectually, I know that getting sufficient carbs is important for performance and recovery. But I'm surrounding in this world of Paleo, keto, carb-cycling where so many Instagram hashtags are all #waroncarbs and #carbsarefortheweak. So when I decided I was going to make myself get 160 grams of carbs a day, and started eating two donuts after training, it felt revolutionary and was treated revolutionarily by others. 

Then Joy sends me my macro breakdown:

I'm supposed to eat calories in carbs what many women think they're supposed eat in calories all day.

Wat?

So I went home that day and spent 1.5 hours on MyFitnessPal trying various portions of the food I already cooked along with easy to add carbs. I wanted to try to hit these numbers right away but in the easiest way possible. I can "complicate" it more later. 

Other guidelines for hitting these macros

Since I admitted to sleeping poorly (I only get 7.5 hours of sleep most nights, and that sleep I do get is pretty bad), she asked that I stop drinking coffee after 12pm, nix the glass of wine before bed for a while, and have me eat the bulk of my carbs with dinner. 

This isn't comfortable to do, but I've been sleeping like a fucking champion this week. 

The "no coffee after 12pm" is tough because I JUST LOVE COFFEE. I drink coffee flavored protein! I love coffee flavored ice cream! I want coffee smelling candles! However, it's had the unintended consequence of me drinking a lot more water. Logic: if I fill my stomach with water, all the awful sloshy feelings will make me less attracted to wanting more liquid. So far, that's working. 

The "bulk of carbs at night" thing is tough, too. Since I've already made a bunch of food, enchiladas, quiche, and meatballs, that only have so much carb in them, I'm left eating a medium bowl of white rice followed by two cups of frosted mini wheats to hit the numbers. To almost hit the numbers, anyway. 

After that I'm laying on the couch, groaning and whining to my boyfriend for about 10 minutes and then I pass out. My boyfriend, the saint that he is, doesn't leave me there to sleep, but relentlessly works to make me go up to bed. I'm a big girl, so carrying me there isn't an option. 

Four days in...

So far I feel great. I really expected to feel bloated eating so many carbs right before bed, but my body doesn't seem to be responding that way at all. The macros right now are supposed to be at maintenance level, and that is whats happening so far. I weighed in today at 182.3 lbs, which is right at normal, so no water retention happening here. 

Coupled with feeling pretty recovered from picking back up normal lifting work again, and sleeping pretty deeply at night, I guess there is something to this eating all the carbs. :) 

I'll be posting updates as things go along and we make changes. Take-away, carbs really are our friends. (Protein, too, but you already knew that.) 

Notes from MOTIVATE: A health and behavior change summit (part two)

Welcome to part two of Notes from MOTIVATE.

As an aside before we get started...

Notice how this post is NOT one week after the last post like I said it would be? Remember me talking about habit hangovers? This is a note to myself to eventually write about how good habits can get easily derailed by small changes in one's weekly schedule.

I don't mean to make an excuse, I just want to point out how even those of us that have been characterized has "having grit",  "dedicated", and "driven" can just as easily fall off any wagon they try to put themselves on.

If you didn't guess already, writing this blog is also my way or organizing and digesting the thoughts and learnings of the weekend. 

So let's jump right in! 

Managing Expectations

This kind of goes hand in hand with "big changes versus slow progress" but with the focus towards getting clients to understand how what they want (THE MOON) isn't going to happen in 6 weeks or ten sessions.

There is a lot of myth dispelling that has to happen. After all, did you gain weight or lose mobility all in six weeks? No? Then you're probably not going to lose the weight or get that function back in only six weeks either. Once a client has laid out their goals, sometimes working backwards from the goal to where they are will get them to understand what kind of work is ahead of them.

A few suggestions involved getting the client to self evaluate beyond what they want and how they are going to get there. Asking "how do you see yourself getting there?" or "how do you see this working?" can go a long way in better understanding if the client understands what's going on. And as sessions progress, asking the client to asses progress can help them realize that small changes ARE big changes. "How did this session feel compared to the last? Was anything easier? Harder?"

So the action steps we came up with"
1) Hear the goal or goals.
2) Assess where they are. You want to do a tough mudder? How much running do you do now? Have you ever climbed a rope?
3) Ask client how they see the plan going from A to B working. Get the client engaged in the analysis process to help them be more aware of what a real plan of action looks like.
4) Keep client away of their role in the process. Show them the progress they make and checking in on what they're up to.


Using Technology to Teach
Online Coaching vs. In Person

This one was a little harder to wrap my head around how to implement it in my practice as everything I've done is about face time.

Some programs that are out there and used often are: MyFitnessPal, Google Docs, Excel, Evernote, Tumblr. Many clients like to use wearables like Nike+, FitBit, Misfit, heart rate monitors. Coaches can use Trainers Eyes and Coaches Eye to analyze movement and keep in contact with clients.

What could we use? The fitness industry is basically still stuck in the 90's using a combination of email, Excel, and pencil on paper to keep track of things and interact with clients.

Some of the barriers to coaching people online doesn't just have to do with the technology itself. When you're face to face with a person, only about 10% of the communication happening is done through actual words. The rest is energy, body language, chemistry, and the like. Going online flips all of that around.

You have to be able to write.

There isn't any face time, and once that piece go away, you need to excel at the written word to keep people coming back and fully showing up. Very few of us took extensive English classes. And those classes that I did take (technical writing, and AP English back in high school) didn't necessarily address how to connect with your average, pulled-in-all-directions human being.

The best way to get better at writing is to write. And maybe a journalism class.


Can Showing Vulnerability Help Clients?

Last session of the day and I was EXHAUSTED. So the notes were a bit sparse on this one.

The question is if and how do other coaches use their own struggles and vulnerabilities to help connect with and guide clients? Do some coaches think that sharing struggles can give clients "an out" on sticking to their own habits?

We decided that it's probably both with the difference in how one approaches it and how often.

When a client is in a particular motivation rut and starting in with the negative self talk, it can be helpful to use yourself as an example. Showing first hand how ups and downs will happen and as long as you stick to the general plan you can reach your goals.

Talking about it too often, and you might give the client the idea that you barely have to stick to a plan for everything to work out in the end. That will lead to confusion and frustration.


In the end...

After all was said and done, we were ALL so tired and so excited about all the information we exchanged. The conversations are continuing online, and new, awesome people are being brought into the fold every week.

If this sounds like something that is interesting to you, you can read more about habits and motivation on the Coach Stevo blog site. Then you can sign up at and follow along with the conversation at Habitry.com (scroll down to get to article and other sections).

The next Motivate Summits for 2015 will be in Feb at Mark Fisher Fitness in NYC, and again in June somewhere in Oakland. So stay tuned!

Strong(wo)man Nationals Recap

This meet didn't go as spectacularly as I had hoped. When I feel myself getting too down about my performance, I have to remind myself that ALL the events had something in it that was brand new to me (kegs? circus dumbbells? car deadlifts? What the hell??) and I had about four weekends to get that shit in my head and body.

As the competition started to draw close, everyone at my gyms were telling me how I'd kick everyone's ass and how I'm too strong not to do well. "You don't understand," I wanted to say, "everyone at this competition is the strongest girl at their respective gyms. Possibly the strongest PERSON there."

So off to Reno I go, butterflies, protein powder, straps, wraps, and all.

You can see the cars, the yokes, and the crowd.

Day One
Overhead Medley

125lbs keg once, 145lbs axle once, and an 80lbs circus dumbbell for reps. Like I said, kegs and circus dumbbells are brand new movements for me. I had no idea how unstable my wrists/ thumb grip was until I first picked up a mock circus dumbbell about a month ago.

Split jerk, it's what I do.

On game day, it took me two tries to get the keg over my head, the axle was a breeze, and I was only credited with one circus dumbbell rep out of the three overhead moments I had. I split jerk the dumbbell, (I split jerk life) and every time I went to gather my feet together the handle rolled towards my thumb and down it went.

This put me in the upper middle of the pack.

Yoke Walk

500 lbs. Every time I have done this at weight in training, usually at the end of the day, I would have to put it down at some point. Since we were only allowed one drop, I was cautiously smooth with it. Took me way to long to get across that finish line. Damn shame, I should have gone all out and then pulled back if I dropped it.

I told myself I wouldn't make that mistake again.

Carry Medley

150lbs keg for 60ft, 200lbs handles for 40ft, 225lbs duck walk for 20ft. The worst part about this one was the waiting. Since light weight women always went first, and I was in the middle of the middle weight women pack, and because they had to reset the implements each time, it was about three hours from when we got to warm up on the equipment to the time I actually went. I took a nap in my room.

When I started this one, I thought "I'm not taking this smooth and easy again" and tried to sprint with that keg. Lost my footing and dropped the keg. Fuck. Too much gusto. Lost time in chasing it down to pick up again. No dropping with the handles (yay!) and I did the bunny hop style of the duck walk for most of the distance.

Still middle of the pack.

Car Deadlift

Toyota Yaris. Was supposed to be a SMART car, so it was a little heavier than many people anticipated. After watching one girl after another strap in and not lift a single rep, I too started doubting myself. But my training had definitely prepared me for this. Jon's Deep Water approach means with something like this I can basically black out and rep out. In the end, I had 15 reps on the car, in an event where half the middle weight women didn't get one.

Reno lights, car deadlifts, normal Saturday.

This swept me up to fourth place. This swept me up to excited. Top four in the 180's get an Arnold Invite. Now I just have to stay here....

Day Two
Wheelbarrow

Heres one I never got a chance to touch before competition day. Luckily, the wheel barrow has two wheels on the front, so you don't have to worry about side to side balance as much. Just avoid the swivel that tends to happen when you go too fast for control.

If you dropped the wheelbarrow and it slid at all, you get a 2 second penalty. Jon and I decided that since I have a tendency to be binary with moving events (way too cautious, or way too out of control) we'll err on the side of no control and eat the penalty which would be less time added than if I did slow and steady. I did drop it twice in the course, and once over the line, but our strategy worked as it kept me in 4th place for the 180's.

Yelling across the finish line, Coach Jon intimidating the crap out of the wheelbarrow.

Keg Over Bar

Things got squirrelly here. Seeing as I only had two training session with my borrowed keg, I only really had one way that I was comfortable picking it up. At the contest, they didn't have access to the kegs we were supposed to use (125lbs, 150lbs, 175lbs) so we used lighter ones (100lbs, 125lbs, 150lbs) and they raised the bar another few inches.

I got the first two kegs over the bar no problem, after all, I had access to a 125lbs one for training. But then while trying to get the 150lbs one over the bar, I get to close and smashed my finger between the bar and the keg. Keg went down. From there I tried again and just couldn't get the height needed to clear the bar. I tried to pick up the keg in the way I was seeing other people do it, more like a stone, but unlike a stone the keg kept sliding down my legs.

The timer whistle blew and I didn't get the final keg over. I walked away from the scene and tried not to cry too much. I just knew that this performance had knocked me down too far to make get an Arnold invite. I gathered my stuff, gathered my bored boyfriend, and and started home.

Twist of Events 

I spent the the four hour drive home licking my wounds. Each stop, once for coffee and once for Korean BBQ tacos, consisted of eating my emotions.

Just before hitting the sack for the night at the old person bedtime of 9pm, I get a call from Jon. "So you actually came in 5th, even after the keg event. And Kristy Scott already declared that she'll be doing The Arnold as a heavy weight, so her invite is getting passed to you."

Holy Shit.

I wasn't sure how to react. Am I making this up because I was so freakin' tired? I basically laid in bed talking to my poor boyfriend (he's a freaking saint for putting up with me) and tossing and turning.

But sure enough, a couple other people who were helping out at the event let me know that, yes, I was in fact qualified for The Arnold!

My coach, Jon Anderson, and his family post competition. I just find this picture really sweet. 

Interested in Trying Strongman for Yourself?

Here are some resources to get started on your own Strongman Journey!

North American Strongman Association

Starting Strongman Website

Map of Strongman Gyms Around the World