Stay Healthy My Friends

Saturday Jan 4, 2013

Pre-hab:

Scapular Push ups/Circles(Clockwise/counter) x15 each?
Banded Overhead Distraction
Super rack stretch

 Warm up:

400m Jog
-then-

2rounds

Jumping Lunges x20
Mountain Climbers x20
5 Push Press
5 Push Jerk
5 Split Jerk

 Strength:

15 min to Est. 1 RM Jerk

 Notes: Focus on maintaining an upright dip with the weight under your heals then finishing with a solid lockout over the back portion of your head. Use the racks or set up the blocks to try something new!

 Partner conditioning

 For Time in teams of 2:?
120 Double Unders
?20 Deadlifts 315/205
?40 Push Ups
?120 Double Unders
?20 Power Cleans 225/155?
40 Pull Ups
?120 Double Unders
?20 Power Snatches 135/95
?40 Push Ups
?120 Double Unders?
-30 min time cap-

Notes:  One person working at a time for the entire workout. Ideally both athletes will use the same barbell, but if needed you can have separate bars between you and your partner, but only one bar each! You will need to change the weights during the wod so you should set up your bar for a smooth transition. 

 Cool Down: (with partner)

Accumulate 50 T2B total
(partner 1 works while partner 2 holds onto bar)

Cobra Stretch x1’
Couch Stretch x1’
Wrist DROM

This holiday season, tis the season for travel, seeing family, and getting sick. I never get sick…except when I travel. And I really tried so hard this Christmas break to keep the streak going, which I was very successful…that is until the very last day. 

 Why do we get sick? Can we blame it on new environments? Being around new people who carry different germs? Is it just inevitable that we will all get sick? I don’t believe so.

 We get sick because our immune systems become compromised.  Whether it be from lack of sleep, excessive alcohol consumption, poor diet, lack of preparation for change in climate, and STRESS. There are other culprits, but these are usually the usual suspects that trigger those nasty germs to put our body’s defense systems under attack.

 Whether you are sick now, or want to prevent yourself from getting sick this winter season. I would like to share with you my secrets for staying healthy through the “sick” times of the year.

1. Get enough sleep.
2. Drink Plenty of water
3. Eat healthy well balanced meals
4. Avoid excessive alcohol consumption
5. Check the weather channel (If your traveling somewhere cold and you are used to southern California weather, the dress warmer than you think you will need to)
6. AVOID DISTRESS as much as possible (This is above all the most important)
7. Excessive exercise when your immune system is already compromised

 You are probably reading this and thinking to yourself “duh Steve, tell me something I don’t already know” But that’s the thing, the recipe for staying healthy is simple, almost too simple. Normally, you can have a breakdown of 2-3 of the above and still manage to avoid illness, but when you are on the road and exposed to new germs, you may not be able to get away with those breakdowns.

 I got sick because of 1,3, 5, 6, 7. I was not consistently getting enough sleep. I was eating excessive amounts of sugar (damn you sugar cookies) with not enough green leafy vegetables. I did not dress adequately when I went clay pigeon shooting in below freezing temps, I was very underdressed and used up alot of energy shivering (my fingers and toes took about an hour to defrost using a space heater and warm water in the sink). Stress: I could not handle the chaos of traveling for 12 hours using different modes of transportation: car/bus/cab/plane/cab all in same day. It clearly also affected my judgement as I left my phone in a cab. Excessive exercise: I already wasn’t feeling great, in fact I was dead tired when we decided to workout for 2.5 hours at a local affiliate; I felt good during but felt completely depleted afterwards. Instead of my body focusing its energy on keeping my immune system functioning properly, that energy was instead used for exercising, which lead to total comprise of my body’s defense system. So as you can see, I was not being very smart, and as a result, I got sick. So don’t follow the same path I did, be smart and take control of your health by being proactive rather than reactive.

 Last little advice: try supplementing Zinc, Echinacea, and Vitamin C to your diet when you are feeling down. They will help you in prevention of getting ill or speed up the recovery process if you happen to have the misfortune of catching the holiday bug.

“Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint.” 
-Mark Twain