Skip to main content

crossfit strength, pre-workout, post-workout, colds and flus

this is another great talk with my good friend and owner of The CrossFit Combine, Colby Phillips.

when it comes to CrossFit:

  • we train for fitness.
  • we train for health.
  • we train for general preparedness and functionality.

which just so happens to give us everything we are looking for from fitness – conditioning, strength, aesthetics, and capability.

 

on pre-workout supplements and nutrition:

we want to train fasted.  we do NOT want to consume sugar and/or protein before a workout, including BCAA’s.

  • digestive effort from the body will hinder its performance because we are now asking the body to do 2 different things – digest and workout.
  • we want the body to be self-sufficient, self-reliant, and metabolically flexible.  if the body is able to derive energy from calories in the upper GI during a workout, it doesn’t have to learn how to prioritize making its own energy.

we do not want to consume “pre-workout” stimulants that increase our heart rate significantly.

  • pre-redlining the heart rate keeps us from reaching our true potential during a workout.
  • we can experiment with low-dose caffeine such as a cup of coffee, or a low-dose caffeine product such as this.
  • we can experiment with cordyceps such as this product from Onnit.  it does NOT increase the heartrate, but it has been proven to improve cardiovascular performance.  I’ve tried it, not sure if I notice anything from it.
  • we can experiment with exogenous ketones such as these.  in my experience, it’s still too much in the upper GI to do an intense metabolic conditioning workout with.  it might be fine to experiment with for less intense workouts such as strength training.  it is NOT a stimulant, just another substrate of energy.

we do not want to obsess about post-workout nutrition.

it is true that the body is more insulin sensitive and receptive to nutrients after intense training.  it is also true that fasting after intense training gives the body the ability to clear damaged proteins and excess glucose from the system.  so in our opinion, it’s a wash.

  • if you’re hungry post workout, eat.
  • if you’re not hungry post workout, don’t eat.
  • when you eat, eat real food, and trust your body to know what to do.

Colby and I both have done long experiments of eating immediately after a workout and comparing our results to fasting post workout.  we see improvements in performance and body composition in fasting.

the bottom line is, don’t obsess.  eat real food when you feel like it.  and trust.

on colds and flus.

the best prevention is being healthy all year – eating real food, going to bed on time, getting sun every day, training hard, and meditating.  if you get sick, when you get sick, don’t stress.  it’s very normal to get sick once or twice a year.  what you don’t want is to continuously be sick.

  • if you catch that little itch in the back of your throat right when it starts, try sucking on these zinc acetate lozenges at the onset of the scratch.  suck on them till they dissolve (should take 20min), and do this every 1-2 hours to disrupt the replication of the flu virus.
  • if you have upper respiratory symptoms, take this reduced glutathione.
  • you can experiment with high dose vitamin C.  we sell some good stuff in our office from the Vitamin C Foundation.
  • if you have other symptoms, doTERRA essential oils can work magic.  ask us about them.
  • once sick, think ease-of-digestion.  fasting is great.  drinking bone stock is awesome.
  • making homemade ginger honey tea is comforting and also soothing for the throat.

you can download our summary document here, complete with essential oil recommendations and recipes.

 

 

Paul C. Tijerina

Paul C. Tijerina | BS MFT CPT NLP | Nutritional Therapist & ATAVIST Life Coach