FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1ST, 2010

6:30pm

NOTE: There will be no class Saturday

Coach Justin

PerformanceQuestFitness@gmail.com

Shopping Guide!

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2010

6:30pm

NOTE: There will be class this Friday (tomorrow) at 6:30!!! But there will be no class this Saturday.

One of the many hang-ups that athletes tend to encounter when getting into the recommended diet is how to shop! In fact, I got this shopping confusion from 3 different people this week so me thinks it is probably an important subject to hit on for this post.

Let me first pose this question...do you know what foods fall under the categories that constitute "Meats and Vegetables, Nuts and Seeds, Fruits, Tubers (root vegetables like yams and sweet potatoes) and Whole Milk"? If not we're putting the cart before the horse here. So let's quickly cover this by revisiting an old post that will give you the basics of what you need..."Foundations Of Good Nutrition".

Alright, now that we're all on the same page I will admit that I can somewhat understand if there is a bit of confusion as to what foods fit into each of these categories. I mean peanuts are actually a bean for God's sake and beans certainly aren't on the list. And corn is actually a grain! I thought corn was a vegetable for most of my life.

To further this, Robb Wolf, author of The Paleo Solution, has published a Shopping Guide (click for details). A big benefit that you will find with Robb's Shopping Guide that I omitted from my previous post (above) is the "Odds & Ends" section. This will help add variety and zest to your meals so you don't get bored.

As for how much of each item to get during a single shopping trip is up to you and how long you will leave the stuff sitting in your fridge before you eat it. For meat I load up and cram what I won't use in the next few days in the freezer. Pre-packaged vegetables are great for this too as are frozen fruits. I do recommend however that you do your best to eat fresh fruits and vegetables as often as possible. The amounts you buy at a single given time are dependent on how much you will be consuming and that is different for each individual. A little trial and error may be in order here but you should be able to dial it in pretty quickly as the amounts of foods you eat each day shouldn't vary too drastically. Also, load up on seasonings and spices as well as healthy oils and nuts during that initial shopping trip. Takes a long time for any of those to spoil. So really, after your first big shopping trip, you should only need to buy fruits and vegetables (and whole milk) during the next few shopping trips. For whole milk (only for mass gain) I typically buy 3-4 gallons at a time since I'll be consuming them all in the next 3-4 days (G-O-M-A-D = Gallon Of Milk A Day).

Still having a tough time? Let me know.

Coach-Shop-'Til-Ya'-Drop-Justin
PerformanceQuestFitness@gmail.com

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29TH, 2010

NO CLASS

NOTE: Class will resume on Thursday at 6:30pm and there will be no class this Saturday.

Monday's class was smaller than usual, however there was a great mix of athletes. From left to right we have Aaron (Pararescue), Cameron (Starting Catcher - Sr. Shasta High School), Lucy (Volleyball Standout - Soph. Foothill High School), Sean-David (Starting Catcher - Soph. Foothill High School)

Check out those shorts on Cameron huh! If you want to see him in action in those shorts again you're gonna have to watch him cheerleading at the powder puff Monday night.

Coach Justin

PerformanceQuestFitness@gmail.com

Mass Gain Calculations

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28TH, 2010

6:30pm

NOTE: There will be no class this Wednesday or Saturday.

In continuing with yesterday's post on My Mass Gain Project, here are some simple calculations that I did to find a baseline of what my daily caloric intake should be and how those calories should be broken up between proteins, fats, and carbs. I haven't yet taken into consideration carb repartioning (an effective post workout nutrition technique), which is something that I know I've described to many of you before and have actually posted in the not so distant past (does Non-Insulin Mediated Glucose Transport ring any bells? If not read here) and something I will include in a follow-up post.

Please keep in mind this is for gaining weight! If you want to lose weight you've got some different parameters to work with. Also know that if you're to use this as a guideline to do your calculations the constant numbers (the ones you will need to use that are the same as mine) will be highlighted below in yellow. All of the other numbers are specific to MY weight and MY goal weight. Provided are 2 different options you have to gain weight. I am currently going with option #2 but you may want to be more precise and go with option #1. If you opt for option #2 and it doesn't work for you then we will certainly be implementing option #1 and having you record your intake so that way you can actually see if you're getting the right amount of food and don't just think you are.

So, without further ado, here are what MY numbers look like. You may have different numbers.

OPTION #1
Note: When I started (7 days ago) I weighed 201.4 lbs. I want to weigh 235 lbs (goal weight)

1. Determine total Caloric needs by bodyweight (BW) and multiply by 19-21 cals/lb (Shoot for goal weight)

• My example: 235lbs x 19 cals/lb = 4,465 calories per day needed

2. Determine how many of those calories need to be protein (1g protein per lb BW)

• 235 lbs (goal weight) x 1g/lb = 235g protein per day

3. Determine how many of those calories need to be carbohydrate (1g carbs per lb BW). This may need to be tweaked depending on your tolerance to carbs in the future. See how you respond first though.

• 235 lbs (goal weight) x 1g/lb = 235g carbohydrate per day

4. Calculate how many calories of protein and carbohydrate you are consuming each day and round out the remaining calories with fat and convert to grams of fat if desired.

• 1g protein = 4 calories per gram...therefore... 235g protein x 4 calories per gram = 940 calories of protein per day
• 1g carbohydrate = 4 calories per gram...therefore... 235g carbohydrate x 4 caloreis per gram = 940 calories of carbs per day
• 4,465 calories per day - 940 calories protein per day - 940 calories carbohydrate per day = 2,585 calories from fat needed each day
• 2,585 calories from fat / 9 calories of fat per gram = 287g fat needed per day

OPTION #2

This is what Robb Wolf calls "Seat-O-Pants Paleo". With this option you eat as much as possible at each meal (while following the parameters of Paleo nutrition). He also places an emphasis on post workout carbs (the repartitioning I mentioned earlier), but I'm not doing that yet and we'll get to that soon. Right now I want you to EAT! Eat 3 meals a day and a couple of snacks. Or just eat 4 meals a day and no snacks. Either of these is a good place to start. With this "Seat-O-Pants Paleo" you may need/want to include a gallon of whole milk a day. This I am trying for the first time (sorta...When I was bodybuilding I drank a TON of whole milk, maybe a gallon or more a day, but I was also eating what I thought were really healthy foods but what I now know are actually really crappy foods along with it. Needless to say, I was pretty fat. HUGE but with lots of fat). I used a week to break myself into this. A half-gallon the first 4 days. 3/4 of a gallon on days 5 and 6. And my first full gallon came today, day 7.

To date I have gained exactly lbs in 7 days and have not increased my body fat at all (according to both the CrossFit Redding scale and my home scale).

Coach-Bring-It-On-Skinny-Britches-Justin
PerformanceQuestFitness@gmail.com

I Am 100% Doing This For You 70% Of The Time...My Mass Gain Project

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 27TH, 2010

6:30pm

NOTE: There will be no class this week on Wednesday and Saturday.

If you haven't noticed, about 80% of my blog posts on this site, a site about all things performance related, are regarding nutrition. Hopefully this gives you some insight about how important this topic is when it comes to your health and performance. It's crucial and non-negotiable. Period! There are no ways around it. NONE!

As I've recently mentioned in my prevous post on "Eating For Mass Gain", I have a number of clients (predominantly of the XY genotype), that desire to gain weight. Not only do they want to gain weight, but after working with me for some time now, they understand and want to gain weight in the healthiest and most efficient manner possible. Also, as I've mentioned before, gaining weight and gaining weight correctly (healthiest way) is no walk in the park...especially compared to losing weight (of course this goes without saying in the healthiest manner possible as well). People who want to lose weight or simply be healthy, I have no sympathy for...it's just too easy (typically).

People who want to gain weight properly are constantly forced to stuff their face with food even when they are already full and feel like their intestines are about to explode out of every orifice of their body. Then, when they feel like this, they are required to go squat as heavy as individually possible. If you didn't already feel like you were on the verge of puking before the workout, you most-likely will in the middle or at least by the end. And this is every day! On day's you don't workout, you eat the same amount of food. Many, after actually realizing how demanding and torturous gaining weight healthfully actually is, decide that maybe "gettin' HEEYUGE" just isn't for them and that being lean will suffice.

This is what many of you aren't grasping. If you want to get "HEEYUGE" you have to constantly EAT! All day long. Even when you don't want to.

So here's what I'm doing and have actually already started doing in leiu of your struggles. I am putting myself through a mass gaining phase. During this phase I am recording everything I am eating and the workouts I am doing daily. My aim here is to post this information as frequently as possible (at least once a week, but don't hold me to it...we'll see) in order to give you an idea of what gaining weight looks like for me.

Here's the other thing you will need to consider. I am not what is termed a "hard-gainer". I actually put on weight fairly easy. I've not even been doing this for a week yet (6 days) and I've already put on 5 lbs. I don't expect this to hold true every week, but I now that this isn't common for many. What this means for you, since almost everyone I have who is trying to gain weight would be classified as a "hard-gainer", is you must eat AT LEAST as much as I eat every day to gain weight and for manyof you, if not all of you, this may not even put on a pound! Most of you will have to eat more. How much more? I don't know. That's an individual thing. There are calculations that I will also provide you with in an upcoming post that you can use to determine a good starting point and progression into more daily calories.

Oh! I will also be posting my schedule at times with the other information to prove a point. My days often consist of 13-15 hour days (between school, coaching, work, etc.) with only an hour or two worth of breaks in between those hours. Literally, I'm not home from 9am to 10:30pm (sometimes). But you know what? I still manage to get my food (quality food) down the piehole and get an adequate number of workouts in per week. So! I don't want to hear, "but I don't have enough time"... and then have you look to me for answers or as if it's my fault you're still able to lower your arm at your side when you sleep because your lats are not so gigantic. I gave you the answers (I know all of you have been told to cook meals in advance when you have the time and when you are cooking something to eat already, and have been given specific examples...See "If Only Everything Were This Easy"), am still giving you the answers, and you're making excuses. If you have a goal pursue it and make it happen. Otherwise you have a wish. If that's the case I hope you have a strong foundation with the Lord at that point because He's the only one who can possibly work miracles like that. And no, the Lord is not code-word for S-T-E-R-O-I-D-S. That will never be my answer or solution for me or you. Remember, I want you to do it in a healthy way.

So here's to the upcoming weeks of being overfed, working out with food coming back up the ol' esophagus and dealing with a less-than-thrilled girlfriend because my eight-pack is gradually disappearing.

Sounds fun right? Who's on board! (Remember, I am doing this 100% for you 70% of the time)

Coach-Already-Losing-His-8-Pack-And-Stumbling-Through-The-Pain-Cage-Justin
PerformanceQuestFitness@gmail.com

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24TH, 2010

NO CLASS

NOTE: There will be no class this Saturday but you can show up to CrossFit Redding and register on the spot to participate in Fight Gone Bad V.

FGBV is a fundraiser carried out by CrossFit Inc. and the accumulated proceeds from CrossFit gyms around the world will go to several very worthy causes. They are The Wounded Warrior Project, Livestrong Foundation, and CrossFit Foundation. For more information on these charities please click on the links attached to each of them. To date CrossFit has raised approximately $1,050,000! And I have a feeling that much of the fundraising money has still yet to come in and will come in on the actual event day...Saturday. Be a part of the cause. Even if you can't support the fight financially, show up and give your support. Also, FGB is one of the most entertaining workouts to watch. You don't even have to participate. Fight Gone Bad IV at CrossFit Redding was one of the most inspirational events I've ever witnessed and been a part of. Don't miss out.

And, for those of you who go, please feel free to take your camera and send me your pictures of the event so I can post them. Thanks.

Coach Justin
PerformanceQuestFitness@gmail.com

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23RD, 2010

6:30pm

NOTE: There will be no class this Friday or Saturday.

Saturday don't forget to show up for the Fight Gone Bad V fundraiser at CrossFit Redding. If you want, it's not too late to register to workout, or you can come and cheer on the hard-working folks who are participating as a spectator. Either way, this is one of the most amazing athletic events I've ever been a part of and I hope you don't miss out on your opportunity to experience it for yourself. See you tomorrow evening.

Coach Justin
PerformanceQuestFitness@gmail.com

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22ND, 2010
No Class

NOTE: There will be no class Friday

http://www.fgb5.org/ CHECK IT OUT!

Coach Justin
PerformanceQuestFitness@gmail.com

Who Knew That $14.58 Could Save Your Life?

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21ST, 2010
6:30pm

NOTE: There will be no class this Wednesday or Friday.

BUY THIS BOOK!!! (and then continue to read on) The Paleolithic Solution - The Original Human Diet

The fact that I utter this statment is still sometimes hard for me to swallow, however, it just keeps coming out and I can't stop it. "No matter what cool, exciting, revolutionary stuff you learn with me in the gym regarding training (or out of the gym for that matter) I will confidently tell you that the most important thing I can teach you is how to eat properly."

This absolutely shocks some people who don't realize and/or haven't experienced the benefits to be had by eating the way that humans are designed to eat. It's true...if I had to chose either eating healthy OR working out consistently for the rest of my life I would tip my hat to eating healthy. Of course I will never actually advise that you only do one and not the other because combined you have a potent combination, or at least foundation, for a healthy, vibrant, long life.

One of the most frustrating things I run into is people (especially young athletes) who think that I am going to make them a phenom just by what we do inside the gym with the iron. I try to impart upon them all the time that if I took the whole hour we just had together lifting heavy shtuff and I talked about how I want them to eat for the next week they would most-likely realize a more drastic uptick in performance than from the strength and conditioning. Again, combine the two and watch out competition.

If you are my client then you know that to work with me you have to always be ready to work hard. And boy do we work hard! But then, when the workout's over I often see nothing but crap being shoved into the piehole. These people, the ones stuffing garbage in their face, will never experience the fantastic benefits that are actually to be had by working so hard. In my mind this is sad. Probably because I know how incredible it feels to optimize recovery, clarity of mind, and all of the other benefits there are from eating clean.

And, for my money, no one knows more about eating clean, optimizing recovery and fueling for performance (including performing through life itself) than Robb Wolf. This man is a nutritional genius (I actually literally call him my Nutrition God) whom I've written on before and who all of you should get to know on some level. His book The Paleolithic Solution - The Original Human Diet was just released on Amazon.com and you can still get it at the release price of only $14.58! It is my contention that this can be and will be the most important $14.58 investment that you've ever made. Let's see...only $14.58 to avoid the doctor, surgery, inflated medical bills, etc. It's a no-brainer folks.

Next week we'll all start discussing the book upon the conclusion of class while we're stretching and recovering. I hope you're involved in the discussions.

Here it is again The Paleolithic Solution - The Original Human Diet

Coach Justin
PerformanceQuestFitness@gmail.com

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20TH, 2010

6:30pm

Hey all. After a weekend full of rest, recovery, vitamin D and fish oil I am back on track. This means be ready for a great workout tomorrow. See you there.

Coach Justin
PerformanceQuestFitness@gmail.com

And If You Thought That Was Bad Then Check This Out

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16TH, 2010
CLASS CANCELED
Complete September Schedule

NOTE: There will be no class Friday and Saturday this week. See you Monday.

After reading yesterday's post and browsing through a couple of the links that were posted I hope you got a great idea of how bad high fructose corn syrup AND sugar are for you. Seemingly, there could be nothing worse right? I mean, when cigarettes are being touted as healthier, or at least less damaging, than something you're eating, how much worse can it get?

It can get this much worse - http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/09/15/aspartame-side-effects.aspx

Coach Justin
PerformanceQuestFitness@gmail.com

Don't Make This Mistake...It's Deadly

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15TH, 2010
NO CLASS

NOTE: There will be no class this Friday or Saturday.

As I was cruzing through the slew of Yahoo! stories that come up every day I noticed a story about corn syrup producers wanting to change the name of corn syrup to corn sugar (Corn Syrup Producers Want Sweeter Name: Corn Sugar). I was planning on ripping this article and Audrae Erickson to shreds in this post but as I did some supplementary research on corn syrup and sugar and which one is actually worse for you I realized...it doesn't matter. They're both fatal, even in moderate consumption. DON'T EAT EITHER OF THEM!

If I were Audrae Erickson and the other producers of corn syrup I couldn't sleep at night living with and knowing what I do to people and their families.

Yes, maybe one is worse for you than the other (Sugar May Be Bad, But This Sweetner Is Far More Deadly), but if you are consuming either of them from anything other than what's naturally in whole food sources (meats and vegetables, nuts and seeds, fruits, some root vegetables, no sugar and NO CORN! ) then you either don't care about your health anyways and probably aren't going to care which one is worse for you or you've been seriously misinformed and are buying into what is mass produced as healthy by mainstream media.

If you don't already realize how deadly sugar and corn syrup (fructose) are then do some of your own research. Here are some websites that you can quickly go to and get all of the information you need to make an informed decision.

High Fructose Corn Syrup
Sugar

Oh! And did you know that "Sugar is More Deadly Than Cigarettes?"

Coach Justin
PerformanceQuestFitness@gmail.com

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14TH, 2010

6:30pm

NOTE: There will be no class this Wednesday or Friday.

To view the entire September calendar click here: September Schedule

Coach Justin
PerformanceQuestFitness@gmail.com

September Schedule

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13TH, 2010

6:30pm

NOTE: There will be no class this Wednesday or Friday.

Here's the schedule for the rest of September.

Coach Justin

PerformanceQuestFitness@gmail.com

Don't Let Yourself Fuzz Up

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10TH, 2010

NO CLASS

NOTE: Next class will be Monday, September 13th, at 6:30pm

I pulled this blog post straight from the blog of San Francisco CrossFit and it was written by the K-Star (Kelly Starrett - Physical Therapist Extraordinaire and creator of the Mobility WOD). Give the video a watch. It might tell you something about yourself.

Look. You've got to take care of your tissues. This is probably second in importance only to the universal "protect your crotch" law. Stretching or mobilizing your tight business is always a good idea, but in reality as about as sexy as laundry and taxes.
But, really, who cares if your performance suffers, or you get pulled into terribly technique poor positioning, or are really weak at the end ranges of your range of motion, or you are wearing out your joint surfaces?

Enter the Fuzz Concept.

Maybe, you will start stretching because you just don't like the concept of "fuzz" accumulating in your tissues. Fuzz you ask? I have a fuzz problem? What the fuzz? Gil Hedley, rockstar anatomist, makes an excellent case and presents a compelling hypothesis for internal muscular resistance. You can think of muscular "stiffness" as a measure of how well the muscle tissue (and other connective tissues) slide past one another. The more stiffness, the greater the internal resistance of the system. Increased internal resistance means decreased efficiency and lost power output. (We actually talk about this at the Movement and Mobility Seminar.) Dr. Hedley describes the formation of fuzz as secondary to immobility (like sleeping). As an aside, Leopards do stretch by the way, and you aren't a leopard--so quit using the "leopard defense" to rationalize your stiff/tight self. Know what makes even more fuzz accumulate in your body? Muscle damage. That's right. Working out.

Go ahead, say something witty you fuzz collector.
Now watch the man himself describe the fuzz epidemic.



See. Aren't you embarrassed that you are so fuzzy and you didn't even know it?

Gross.

K-banishthefuzz-Star


Coach Justin
PerformanceQuestFitness@gmail.com

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9TH, 2010
6:30pm

NOTE: There will be no class tomorrow, Friday, September 10th.

Requests for dessert recipes have been popping up a lot lately so here are a few that you could give a try. If you make them let me know what you think.

Almond Macaroons
----------------
1-1/4 cups almonds
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons grated lemon peel
2 egg whites, beaten
1/4 cup raw honey
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Grind almonds coarsely. Combine cinnamon and lemon and add. Beat egg whites very stiff, fold in honey and continue beating. Fold in lemon juice with almond mixture and blend. Drop from a teaspoon onto ungreased parchment paper. Bake 30 minutes at 250 degrees F. Remove from paper while still slightly warm. Makes 30 macaroons.

Other Great Paleo Dessert Recipes
Paleo Macaroons (not the same as the ones above)
Chocolate Hazelnut Cakes

Coach Justin
PerformanceQuestFitness@gmail.com

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8TH, 2010
6:30pm

NOTE: There will be no class this Friday

Hey all. Just stumbled upon this blog that is authored by what I consider the numero uno coach in CrossFit. The blog url is http://mobilitywod.blogspot.com/ and it is authored by none other than the incredible Kelly Starrett.

Here you will find a whole slew of useful and immediately applicable videos and instruction on stretching, recovery, self-therapy techniques and much more. You have to check this blog out. IT'S A MUST! Just watch one of the videos and see what you think. \

I've also added this link http://mobilitywod.blogspot.com/ to my favorite links to the right of this blog page for easy navigation back to this outstanding resource.

Coach Justin
PerformanceQuestFitness@gmail.com

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7TH, 2010

6:30pm

NOTE: There will be no class on Friday this week.

Coach Justin

PerformanceQuestFitness@gmail.com

Why Fish Oils Work Swimmingly Against Diabetes

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2010
9:30 am

With Labor Day and Shasta College volleyball hosting two games, there will be an ammended schedule for Monday. Class will be held at 9:30am instead of 6:30pm. That should give you plenty of time to go home, eat your post workout meal, shower, change into your sweetest green & silver outfit and make it to the Shasta College gym by 2pm with time to spare. The ladies play against Treasure Valley College of Oregon at 2:00pm and Skyline College at 6:00pm.

Meanwhile...check this out -

Why Fish Oil Works Swimmingly Against Diabetes

Coach Justin

PerformanceQuestFitness@gmail.com

Paleo Macaroons!

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 3RD, 2010
No Class

NOTE: Next class time will be Monday (Labor Day) TBA.

Before I give you the recipe for these Paleo Macaroons mark your calendars for next Monday, September 6th, at 2:00pm and 6:00pm as the Shasta College women's volleyball team hosts Treasure Valley College of Oregon and Skyline College. I'd love to see you there.


Macaroons
---------
1 7-ounce bag shredded unsweetened coconut (2 2/3 cups)
1 cup sliced raw almonds
1/4 cup raw honey
4 large egg whites

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease 2 large cookie sheets. Into
large bowl, measure coconut, almonds, and honey. With spoon, mix until
combined. Stir in egg whites until well blended.
2. Drop mixture by heaping tablespoons, about 2 inches apart, on cookie
sheets. Place cookie sheets on 2 oven racks. Bake cookies 20 to 25 minutes
until golden, rotating cookie sheets between upper and lower racks halfway
through baking time. With pancake turner, remove cookies to wire racks to
cool completely. Store cookies in tightly covered container.
Yields: About 1 1/2 dozen

Coach Justin
PerformanceQuestFitness@gmail.com