Sunday Story…Your 6-pack

Lately, I have been hearing about this desire, no this need to have the chiseled 6-pack ab look. I get it…it’s a measure of fitness (we think) and if you have a 6-pack you must be in really good shape. But like a lot of other metrics that have nothing to do with fitness 6- pack abs come with their own set of problems.

First, everyone has some ab development under that layer of fat. To get that 6-pack you so want you need to get your body fat % down, way down. For most women that is going to mean under 15% and for men it’s under 10%. Your individual percentage may need to be lower. When you get that lean it has a whole host of problems…a compromised immune system is one of the biggest issues. You get sick more often that you did when than you carry a bit more fat. If you are a woman you may have issue with your menstruation cycle, as in you won’t have one anymore. And as we all know that is a measure of health. Your performance is going to suffer. You may not be able to lift as much weight as you could before. You may actually end up a bit slower. You thinking processes may also end up compromised.

So how are you going to get that lean?

It all about the diet, dummy! You need to eat natural and unprocessed food. Over processing makes food unhealthy and it will wreck your metabolism and hormone balance. Too much sodium, too much sugar, too many chemicals all combine to ruin your pursuit of lean and healthy. Stop eating processed crap. The worst offenders are the highly processed, refined, hydrogenated vegetable oils.

I have said this hundreds of times: eat meat and vegetables (including starchy vegetables), some seeds and nuts, a little fruit. Avoid sugar. Eat enough to support activity but not store fat. If you do this you will find your body responding.

Avoid alcohol. You can’t drink and maintain a 6-pack. It’s that simple. I know you have all these example of people who do but you aren’t those people. So quit drinking.

Lift heavy weights. Especially squats…if you know me you knew that was coming. Squats build strength, squats build a rock solid core, squats will build muscle everywhere in your body, squats rock.

Move fast, and move fast often. If you aren’t sweating and panting after your workout you aren’t going to see the physical development you want, nor will you be healthy.

Here’s the bottom line:
Lots of people who are NOT healthy or fit have 6-packs. What you want is to be healthy and fit and have a 6-pack so you are going to have to do something new and different; the tried and true hasn’t worked. It is going to require some experimentation on your part. There is no cookie-cutter formula for this. You are different than I am. You need to know what your fat % is now so we can target to a new and exciting number. You need to know your performance numbers as well so we can make sure those don’t go down.

Really, though this 6- pack thing is a construct like “thigh gap”. Having a 6-pack won’t have you squat more, throw faster or farther, run longer, or be immortal. You are going to make some sacrifices to get there. If you are willing we can get there. But you are going to make some changes. And if anyone says they will only love you if you have a 6-pack just go ahead and dump that chump!

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
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Sunday Story…Supplementary Finis

As I have said before, supplements are designed to add to an already outstanding nutrition program. You need to eat real food. You need to eat food that is well prepared, sourced from quality ingredients, and not full of additives and other processed crap. Then you can look to add things into your dies that will help you perform better.

In part 1, we talked about glucosamine, fish oil (omega 3) and DHEA. Those are supplements everyone should be taking whether you work out a lot or a little. 2000mg of glucosamine, 3000mg of fish oil (epa & dha), and 10 -100mg of DHEA depending on gender and age.

In part 2 we talked about Vitamin D and protein powders. These 2 are more dependent on your exercise regimen, age, and need.

These last 2 I only recommend for those of you who are hitting the gym 3+ days a week and are pursuing goals of increasing your strength and stamina.

BCAA
Branched-chain amino acids are essential nutrients the body gets from protein. They help prevent fatigue and improve concentration. As athletes we use them to improve exercise performance and reduce protein and muscle breakdown during intense exercise. You can take them before, during, and after exercise. Most BCAA formulas are the same and often are flavored. It is not a terribly expensive supplement.

Creatine
Creatine is a chemical that is normally found in the body, mostly in muscle fibers. It is made by the body and can also be obtained from certain foods.
We use creatine to improve exercise performance and increasing muscle mass in athletes and older adults. The science on this is not definitive however and not everyone will benefit. Creatine is involved with making the energy muscles need in order to work. Some people find that creatine has them retain water or upsets their stomachs. Most creatine formulas are made with a carbohydrate solution (sugar) that helps make the creatine more effective. Usually a 5 gram dose is all you need but you may want to start with less to make sure you have no adverse reaction.

Supplements are designed to enhance and improve health, fitness, or performance and sometimes all 3 at the same time. Check with your health provider, especially if you are taking medications. You would not want a bad interaction to ruin your day!

Again, fix your diet first. Just like you can’t exercise your way out of a bad diet, neither can you supplement your way out of a bad diet.

Eat right, eat real food.

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
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Sunday Story…Supplementary II

You can’t out exercise a bad diet. Nor can you supplement your way to health. Supplements are designed to add to an already good diet or provide something that may be missing from your good diet. There are also things you can’t necessarily get from your diet.

Last week we talked about glucosamine, fish oil and DHEA. Those 3 things are very difficult to get in your diet. You can eat a lot of fish and still have an oega3 vs. omega 6 imbalance. And that is a big problem for inflammation in your body. This week we will tackle 2 more.

Vitamin D
Vitamin D is required for the regulation of the mineral calcium and phosphorus in the body. It plays an important role in maintaining proper bone structure.
Most people get Vitamin D from sun exposure. You should be able to get enough Vitamin D through exposure to sunlight. If you expose your arms, legs, hands, and face for about ¼ of the time it takes to get a mild sunburn you should produce enough Vitamin D. Here’s the problem, however. We don’t spend enough time in the sun. We wear sunscreen. And as we age our bodies become less efficient at producing Vitamin D from the sun.
As supplements go, Vitamin D is relatively inexpensive and easy to take. 2-5,000 IU should do it.

Protein powder
If you are eating right you may be getting enough protein to support your activity level. If you are building muscle or spending a lot of time in the gym you may need to supplement your diet with additional protein. Protein powders are an easy way to get more protein into your system quickly. You should be ingesting anywhere from 50 grams up to 1.5 times your bodyweight in protein grams a day. 1.5 times would be for a muscle building phase. Generally if you weigh 150# you should be eating between 100 and 150 grams of protein a day. You should know how much protein you are eating a day.
There are lots of sources for protein powders. Read the label and make sure you are getting protein and not sugars and other stuff you don’t want. I prefer whey protein myself and I love SFH fuel for taste and the little extras (MCT) that are in it. SFH makes very high quality protein product from grass fed dairy cows. You could use protein from any number of sources…egg, soy, rice or other vegetable sources. The choice is really yours but make sure it is clean and free of unhealthy additives.
I take a protein shake after I work out to get protein into the system. I will also get one in when I am in a hurry and need some quick fuel.

Again, we should try to get most of our dietary needs met with real food on a regular basis. Constantly trying to find a “magic pill” that will “fix” us is a futile pursuit. There is no magic pill except diet and exercise, working hard and eating right.

Get in the kitchen first!

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
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Sunday Story…Supplementary

Supplement:
noun
1.
Something added to complete a thing, supply a deficiency, or reinforce or extend a whole.

Lately I have been getting a lot of questions about supplements. What should I take? What do you take? Is it worth it, moneywise? Will I perform better, look better, or something else better?

Here’s the bottom line. You need to dial your food intake in. You need to be very conscious of your recovery process. All the supplements in the world will not make up for poor food choices, excess alcohol consumption, or lack of sleep. Just like you can’t out exercise a bad diet, you can’t out supplement bad diet.

That being said, there are several things you can and should be taking no matter what your diet or exercise regimen. Always check with your physician before you begin a regimen of supplements to make sure you won’t have any adverse reactions. Here they are:

Glucosamine
Glucosamine is made by your body and is designed to keep your joints healthy. The supplement is derived from shellfish and will help your ligaments and possibly other connective tissues remain supple and strong. 2000mg a day should do it.

Fish Oil
More specifically Omega-3 Fatty acids. Essential Fatty Acids are not made by your body. You must get them from your dietary intake. They are essential for your health. Most people who are eating a Standard American Diet (SAD) have an imbalance of Omega-3 to Omega-6 oils. This is unhealthy. Omega-3s will help with overall inflammation (a big enemy of health), joint health, and brain function. There is less good information about heart health. Hard to go wrong but you need to buy very high quality purified fish oil. This is one every one of us should be ingesting. 3 grams or 3000mg will do it IF you are getting the right stuff. Read the labels!

DHEA
DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone) is a hormone produced by your body's adrenal glands. These glands are just above your kidneys. DHEA supplements are made from wild yam or soy. DHEA production peaks in your mid 20’s and gradually declines as we age until a severe drop off after age 60. It is believed to help build muscle, fight the effects of aging, provide more energy, improve mood and memory, and improve libido. It functions as a precursor to both male and female sex hormones. You will need to experiment a bit on the dosage depending on age and sex. You can also have this tested (saliva) to find out whether your levels are normal or low.

These are my top 3. I have been taking all 3 of these for years upon advice from several orthopedic doctors. We all need to keep inflammation down as this is the cause of most disease of illness. We all need to have healthy joints, bones, and muscles. We all need to keep our hormones up in the right levels. These things are critical to maintaining optimal health and fitness.

If you start with these 3 you can’t go wrong. Glucosamine is fairly cheap. Fish Oil is not but don’t skimp on quality (we do offer a very good one for sale here in the box). DHEA is also fairly common.

I do take lots of others and I will share those with you over the next few weeks.

Remember…Your diet will influence 80% of your results in the gym and in life. Get that straight; add these 3 things and you will see even more results!

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
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Sunday Story…Act Your Age

Not really. At least not the age the world thinks of at a certain age. Let’ be honest, you and I know that when we think of someone 70 or 80 years old we don’t picture health and vitality. We picture decrepitude and dotage. We picture someone in the twilight of their days, one foot in the grave and the other foot dragging along.

This isn’t you. At least it doesn’t have to be you. But you better do something about it and you better do something about it now. This is one of those things that pays an compounding dividend over time. The rewards are not linear but progressive. Just imagine if you had been in serious pursuit of your health and fitness from age 20. You could have years of health and fitness under your belt. But when you start is not as important as starting. If you start now in 10 years you will have 10 years of chasing health and fitness. But if you wait until you are a certain age, you will have lost all of those years from now until then.

Don’t act your age. Act the age you want to be. This doesn’t mean you have to repeat all the mistakes and angst you had at 25 or 35 or whatever. This means when you get up in the morning you take all the wisdom of your years and apply them to creating the life you want. When I look around at the average almost 59 year old I do not see myself. When I look in the mirror I see an example of shining health and fitness.

Show up today. Tomorrow you can look in the mirror and see more vitality, more health, and more fitness. 10 years from now the rest of the world will see someone 10 years younger than you are instead of the opposite. When you hit 60 it really will be the new 30 for you because you spent decades optimizing your health and fitness.

Stop acting your age. It was good advice when you were 8. It isn’t so good when you are 38 or 48. Start acting like you are in the peak of health, like you are at the pinnacle of fitness. There is only way to get there. Show up. Do work. Repeat.

See you tomorrow!

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John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.sunday–stories.blogspot.com
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Sunday Story…What you Want

There are 3 things that are going to get you where you want to be:
1. Know what you want.
2. Know that it is possible to get what you want
3. Know you deserve what you want.

Let’s talk about that first one. The first one, knowing what you want, will stifle everything else. Do you really believe you know what you want? Do you know what you want like you know the sun is coming up tomorrow, like you know you are going to take your next breath?

Too many of us are conditioned to want certain things or to want them in a certain way. Just like every kid wants the same toy at Christmas, we, as adults, are conditioned by marketing, peer pressure, and the media to want certain things.

But being told what to want is not the same as really wanting. We are told we need to look a certain way…our bodies need to conform to certain ideal. Our faces need to be characterless caricatures of real life. My face tells a story. My body carries all the starts and stops of my life, all the chapters of the book my life is writing. It is mine.

So how do I sift through all the messages and decide what it is I really want. Not what my family thinks I should want. Not what the collective wisdom forces upon me. Not some idealized version of me and my life (Ken & Barbie, Ozzie and Harriet, etc.) But what I really want.

It’s simple, really. When you write that thing down your heart sings. When you imagine yourself as that person you smile and nod with satisfaction. When you see the work involved, the sacrifices to be made, and the effort to be expended you roll up your sleeves and say “bring it on!”

Quit being a slave to other people’s expectations for you. They aren’t you. They aren’t living in your body. They haven’t had your experiences, your depth of life. You and only you can decide what you really really want.

When what you really want is something you want like you want to breathe…then you will get what you want. There won’t be room for any excuses. There won’t be any vacillation or whining or cutting corners. Your goal will loom in front of you like a rising full moon and you will drive yourself to hang that moon yourself.

Figure out what you want…we will work on the rest later.

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
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Sunday Story…Commitment vs. Motivation

I often hear people say they need to get motivated. But I suspect that isn’t what they really mean. Motivation is easy. Motivation just means you decided to do something.

You are motivated to work out. You are motivated to eat healthy food. You are motivated to get more education. You are motivated to be a better spouse. You are motivated to do lots of things. Motivation comes easy.

All you need for motivation is a decision. I need to work out or whatever you decision is. Maybe you finally got the message that healthy food is better for you. You decide to eat better. Making that decision, getting that motivation is, for the most part, simple. Motivation often arises from an external source. I read about the benefits of exercise and get motivated to do some. External sources and rewards are excellent choices for finding motivation.

Where the rubber meet the road is around Commitment. Motivation is like taking a shower; most of us need to do it every day. Commitment is part of your being. When you commit to a course of action you are going to get that action done no matter what. Nothing is going to stand in your way once you are committed. If the water is cold I may lose my motivation to take a shower but if I am committed? Cold water showers are my friend. If there is no shower? A garden hose will work. I am committed. Motivation comes and goes but commitment is here to stay.

You say you want to be healthy. You do the research. You see the Doctor, the trainer, the therapist. You are motivated to get healthy. But somewhere deep down you aren’t really committed. Deep down you don’t believe in your soul that health is yours for the taking. You need to take that first step…Get Committed. Decide to listen to the Doctor and DO what he says. Decide to listen to the Trainer and DO what she says.

We all know how smart you are, already. But if you were so smart why haven’t you already done this? Get out of your own way and get committed to a course of Action. Action is the visible result of commitment. You can say you know what to do all day long but if you don’t do it, you don’t really know.

Lose your motivation, Find your commitment.

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.sundaystories.blogspot.com
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