Post-workout recovery pt. II: Progenex and the fittest man alive

Interesting read on recently popular Progenex products and its growing acceptance with crossfit athletes, specifically the top competitor at this years games, Graham Holmberg.

"Graham’s goal was to perform even better at the 2010 CrossFit Games than he had in the 2009 or 2010 regional competitions. Much like the Central East Regional and other national and international qualifiers, the buzz around PROGENEX at the 2010 CrossFit Games was deafening. People were seeing an improvement in recovery time and performance capacity. The Games athletes flocked to the PROGENEX table after nearly each event and every workout. The sentiments were generally the same, the athletes felt fresh and they wanted to know if it was really PROGENEX that made an impact on their ability to recover. “What’s in this stuff?”, you’d hear often.


Well, to answer your question: Promorphogen (Hydrolyzed Whey Protein Isolate), Less than 5g of Fructose, Natural Flavoring, and a trace amount of Sucralose. We listened to what the CrossFit community wanted and delivered a highly effective, great tasting recovery powder. We avoided detrimental ingredients like Soy, Aspartame, and unproven substances like “gamma-oryzanol” that you would find in competing Post-Workout Recovery supplements. Of course, our improvements to Recovery and More Muscle improved the efficacy of both products.


After supplementing for performance with PROGENEX, Graham was able to train at the highest level. He lifted harder, moved faster, and flat out trained more often. What was the result? A nearly dominant performance at the 2010 CrossFit Games. In nine events, Graham finished outside of the top 6th all but twice. Even more, Graham was in the top-three in five of nine events. The World’s Fittest Man saw a vast improvement in recovery time and durability between the Central East Regional and the 2010 CrossFit Games."

Read the full article here:


http://bit.ly/9oJe4f

Easy made almond flour

So, if you're like me, the worst part of almond flour is buying it. Regardless of where I go, I can not find a decently priced bag of almond flour. Well, I should say, I can never find a "good-sized" bag of almond flour in comparison to it's price. Bottom line is the stuff is expensive and these days no one wants or needs to be spending $10 on a cup-sized bag of almond flour.


So what we can do is just make our own! I found a bag of sliced, blanched (skin-on) almonds at Costco the other day for about $5-$7. It was a decently sized bag. I know you can also get a 1 lb bag of sliced almonds on amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Raw-Natural-Sliced-Almonds-Pound/dp/B001F3J86I) for a very cheap price as well. Take your sliced almonds and throw them in a food processor or a blender and pulse until it becomes a flour/meal. Be careful to not blend too much as it will turn into almond butter, another make at home favorite.


I've found this to be a lot more convenient and soooo much cheaper. This will pay off in the long run, plus there's just "too much awesomeness" in doing it yourself at home. Almond flour is an excellent substitute for regular flour and there are several great paleo recipes online for paleo-style baked goods. Give it a try and let me know how it goes. Bake away!


-Mrs. Fields

Post-Workout Nutrition

This is an issue that I've spoken much on with some of our fellow West Houstoners as well as our coaches and alot of superior athletes that I have had the pleasure to compete against. Post-Workout Nutrition. What exactly does that mean? Well it's different for everyone, but it should be utilized and fulfilled by anyone that looks to gain the most out of their workouts.


There is a small window when completing vigorous physical activity where your body is in an anabolic (building) state. Your muscles have been torn down and your glycogen (energy) stores have been depleted by your workout. Within this small period of time, your body is calling out for you to replenish and rebuild. 15-30 minutes after workouts is ideal and 1 hour is the deadline to consume a healthy blend of protein and carbohydrates. Regardless of what you choose to eat/drink, this is a must for anyone looking to maximize their gains and enhance the muscular recovery process.


There seems to be a non-insulin mediated glucose transport that takes place within this window, so feel free to break out the sweet potatoes and bananas!


Although fruit/vegetables and lean meat sound sooo appetizing after a heavy 5x3 back squat with a hint of AMRAP, I, personally, tend to prefer the liquid meal. It's believed to be faster absorbing and it is a bit easier to shoot down the hatch. This is just my preference, like I said everyone is different. To be precise, I have a 12 oz gatorade (40g carbs) with a heaping scoop of whey (40g protein). Keep in mind those numbers may change workout to workout with regard to the duration, intensity and/or load of the wod. It's delicious, convenient and most of all easy to take to the gym and slam shortly after peeling myself off the ground. Now you can really have fun with the flavors but I prefer to keep things simple. Orange gatorade + vanilla protein = heavenly orange creme. Try it out if you'd like and let me know what you guys think. Everyone seems to hate on the idea, but honestly its not about taste it's more about effect. I would drink sewage water if it would best recover and prep my body for Steph D's partner wod the following day.


All in all ladies and gentleman it comes down to reaping the benefits of your workouts. If you expect the most out of your bodies day in and day out, you have to treat it right. That feeling of fatigue/soreness and lethargy could sometimes be a lack of "post-workout" nutrition. I know I certainly feel the "wrath of the wod" when I don't fuel my body correctly post-exercise.


Just a quick food for thought on post-workout nutrition. I don't see many people doing it and I truly think we can all benefit from it. We wonder why we can't get out of bed the morning after walking lunges, well a small meal of protein + carbohydrates post-lunges could be of much assistance for future reference. Play around with it and find what works for you, but definitely get something in and get it in quick!


Thanks for letting me bore you, like I said earlier if you ever have any questions regarding any of my posts or anything in general, feel free to blog/comment/ask/e-mail (aja@crossfitwesthouston.com) anytime. We are here to help you guys on your path to excellence. Keep living life.


-AB

Attention

Hey guys,


Rob has given me the privilege to bore you all with some of my knowledge and ever-growing knowledge on a variety of topics within the realm of nutrition.


There has been alot going on at our box these days and it is extremely exciting! I was fortunate enough to gather the finals measurements on a few of our members for the Paleo challenge and I must say the results are incredible. You guys are truly understanding the power of choosing the right foods and fully taking advantage of it as well.


Feel free to use this blog as an opportunity to ask any questions that deal with nutrition. There are no dumb questions, any question is a good question. I will do my best to address the issues and I know each member of our staff is very knowledgeable, so they can be of assistance as well.


Keep working hard both in and out of the gym. Remember, exercise is important but nutrition is critical. Train hard and live smart. See you guys soon.


-Aja

Betty Spaghetti

So more often then not, I am the one in the kitchen. Tonight there was a bit of a surprise as Sandra took the helm. I had originally bought the Spaghetti Squash to have it with a Paleo Thai peanut sauce. Unfortunately that was derailed. We decided to make spaghetti with this using our Yonderway Farms Grass Fed Ground beef.

Sandra made sauce from scratch...yep you read that right. She did it kind of by feel, but here is pretty much what she put in it:

3/4 green pepper

1/4 of onion

2 Roma tomatoes chopped

1 can of tomato sauce

garlic

basil

oregano

sea salt and pepper

and a pinch of cinnamon

It was pretty freakin good. We served the sauce over the spaghetti sauce.