we had 12 level-ups for this cycle!!
Amanda gutek
Ben Olin
Diana Patton
Bev Clinton
Kelly Beubien
Ben Snyder
Nate Manuel
jen scharer
samira farahani
adam marroquin
kayla kowalski
michael frushour
jimmy martin
mark antonello
Well done, everyone!! If you stayed the same, great job maintaining, if you leveled down, don’t worry about it too much. It doesn’t mean you’re regressing necessarily. It is an indicator, but of what? TBD. We can chat about it.
NEW TRAINING CYCLES
category focuses are: rowing - api - weightlifting
Expect to see some drills and movements we don’t typically do when we aren’t focusing on these
Our programming is designed to bring a broad and inclusive general physical preparedness to everyone participating consistently at The Standard. That means we have to work in cycles where we focus on certain implements (KB,DB,barbell,etc), energy systems (heavy breathing vs muscular burn), virtuosity (proficiency of a specific skill), and E discipline (neurological learning typically with weights). If we tried to do them all throughout the year, all the time, we would get less progress across the timeline, so we break it up so we can get a specific adaptation. Just in case you wanted some nerd stuff in your blogs. :)
IN-HOUSE UPDATES
IMPROVEMENT SERIES.
Part 2 - NUTRITION - Level Deux
Ok, so we got our diet to the point where Jesus could’ve eaten the majority of the things that we are and we’re seeing significant improvement in body composition and performance.
What’s the next level? We can go even deeper, to Level Deux. At Level Deux, we look at 2 things: QUALITY of nutrients and QUANTITY of macro nutrients.
When considering the quality of the nutrient, what we’re trying to find is the food that has the shortest trip from the ground or walking on the ground, to your plate. If the chicken has been kept in a cage, shot up with antibiotics, fed from a tube, killed and processed in a machine, formed into an animal shape, then breaded and put into an airtight bag before being frozen and shipped out, only to be dropped in a vat of boiling oil before getting on your tray… that chicken is significantly less valuable than if it’s roaming about a farm, killed, and immediately put on a grill. We want the shortest travel from farm to your plate. That is when the nutrients are the most bioavailable (useful) to your body. Organic vs non-organic makes a difference too, but that’s a totally different topic.
Shop at local markets from local farmers at every turn possible.
When considering the quantity of nutrients, this gets much more individual, but there’s one calculation you can do yourself. Protein. Protein is absolutely pivotal to lean body composition AND for looking good at the pool. The more muscle you have, the more calories they will burn; the more calories you burn, the easier it is to burn fat… which makes you more lean. SO WE NEED PROTEIN IF NOTHING ELSE!!
Here’s a couple formulas: MINIMUM Protein intake per day = 70% of LEAN body mass. Lean body mass is current weight - body fat. So if I’m 20% body fat at 200lbs, then my lean body mass is 160, then 70% of 160 is 106… I need 106 grams of protein MINIMUM in order to maintain my current muscle density. If I want to BUILD muscle, I take Lean body mass x 100%, so I need 160 grams.
How do I know my body fat percentage?
These are visual APPROXIMATIONS — there is NO perfect way to calculate BF
We would also start looking at specific macro % but that’s a trial and error process I’m happy to work through with you, but it takes a while to determine what makes progress for you and allows you to perform the way you want in the gym and feel good when you’re not at home.
The protein numbers can often be really difficult to hit, which is why supplements exist. It’s easier to swallow 6 oz of water and powder than it is to eat 1.5 chicken breasts. :)
That’s what we’re going to talk about next week… supplements.
NEXT WEEK: SUPPLEMENTATION
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