Blog Archive

Ok, stay with me…

A hormone is a signalling molecule produced in the body to help regulate changes in an individual’s physiology and behaviour.

A person’s hormonal cascade is largely dependant on social, physical and environmental cues.

A stressful situation signals increasing levels of cortisol, for example, while a position of authority (alpha) can signal increasing levels of testosterone.

Studies have shown there’s an interesting feedback loop that indicates the signalling can go in the opposite direction.

In one experiment, a saliva sample was collected from a group of volunteers.
Their testosterone and cortisone levels where measured and recorded.
They where then separated into two groups.
One group spent 2 min posing in a “high power pose” and the other spent 2 min in a “low power pose.”

Another saliva sample was taken, and compared to the pre-pose samples.

Here is what they found:
The High Power Poser’s testosterone levels went up by 20% and their cortisol when down 25%.
While the Low Power Poser’s levels went in the opposite direction. Testosterone dropped and Cortisol rose.

Pretty dramatic.

Another experiment shows that manipulating an experimentee’s facial expression into a smile (with the help of a pencil clenched between their teeth) increased their pain tolerance. A furrowed brow, wrinkled nose and pursed lips decreased pain their threshold.

Pretty cool, right?

(If you have the time, check out Amy Cuddy’s TedTalk: Your body language shapes who you are for more info)

Keeping the above in mind, to make the most out of your training sessions, it makes sense to pay attention to what your body language and facial expressions are telling your internal chemical factory.

Weightlifters often champion this line of thinking. Watch Hossein Rezazadeh hit a new PR:

If you watch his face, it looks like he’s just buttering his morning toast, not making the biggest lift of his career.

Facial tension doesn’t always equal effort. Especially when it comes to tasks that require speed and coordination, agility, balance, and accuracy.

When you lift with a face that says “I’m currently wresting with a stubborn poop” you’re telling your brain “Holy Smokes, I may not get out of this without a blown O ring.” Your stress levels and the Rate of Perceived Effort go way up.

When you lift with a face that says “I’m just buttering toast” you are telling your brain “I’ve been here before, there is no danger, I know what I’m doing.” Your Rate of Perceived Effort stays at an appropriate level.

So, to give yourself the best chance to knock your training session out of the park, stand like Wonder Woman during the pre-class circle question, and avoid the Matt Chan face during your workout

Andy

Tuesday

Warm-up: 20 minutes

A).

15 prone snow angels
60 second Lying prone dowel hold
30 banded pull throughs
2 mins dead hang hold (accumulate 2 minutes)

B). 5 minute EMOM DB Thrusters: 10 thrusters each minute (keep it light and use this as a gauge for the conditioning at the end of class)

Skill: 15 minutes

Choose 1 of 3

a. 25 strict pull-ups (as few sets as possible)
b. 3×10 kipping pull-ups
c. 3 big sets of butterfly pull-ups

Conditioning:

“Choose your own adventure (weight)”

25 DB Thrusters (unbroken)
3 minutes rest
25 DB Thrusters (unbroken)

**Keep the weight moving the entire time. No resting on the shoulders. These 25 thrusters should be a sprint and shouldn’t take more than 1 minute.

Novice Men: 20-25 lb.
Novice Women: 10-15 lb.
Intermediate Men: 30-40 lb.
Intermediate Women: 20-25 lb.
Bad Ass Men: 45-50 lb.
Bad Ass Women: 30-40 lb.

Finisher: 5 minutes

30 seconds on, 30 seconds off x 5 minutes: Hollow Rocks

For those of you who have embraced the Social Media life, we have a challenge that is right up your alley. For the rest of us, here’s a little gateway challenge to get you into the groove of using Instagram and Twitter. (the dreaded hashtag!)

We have 4 tickets to the Canucks vs Wild on Sunday, February 1st to award. Yes, this is Superbowl Sunday, BUT… the game is at 12:30pm, so it is a perfect pre-game warm-up!

Here is your challenge:

What to do:
1. Do a butt scoot somewhere interesting / picturesque / hilarious
2. Post a photo to Instagram
3. Tag the photos with @madlabschool and #madlabbuttscoot  (and #madlabschooloffitness if you’re a keener)
Note: If your Instagram handle isn’t obvious, please include your name, and your coach
4. Share, post, retweet, etc to gather the most likes to win

You have between today, January 19th and Thursday, January 29th to post. The two photos with the most likes will win 2 tickets each to the game. The final tally will be completed by 7pm on the 29th so that the winners will be posted (re-tweeted etc) on the 30th for all to see.

My bets on who will embrace this wholeheartedly?
Clyde, The Pest (Lars), Baby Nat, Goose Willis, Cabbage Patch (Shelley)
Am I missing anyone??? Post to comments…

Cheers to a dark horse taking these social media mavens DOWN!

~Squad

Monday

Warm-up: 12 minutes

3 rounds:

20m Samson lunge
1 minute front plank
10/10 sit cross-legged and reach
30 sec side plank (alternate sides per round)

Strength: 25 minutes (add 5-10 lb. from last week)

1. Front Squat – 5 x 4

2. Push Press – 5 x 4

Conditioning: 12 minute time cap

30, 25, 20, 15, 10

Weighted lunges – back rack (35lbs/45lbs)
Russian twists with a plate (10lbs/15lbs)

Give this one a go. Start 2015 right with a significant challenge that’ll help you excel.  Everyone can sign up for the MADLab School of Fitness WLC Team here until Jan 22nd.  This is 8 weeks of cleaning up the diet with additional lifestyle (workout/stretching and mobilizing/water consumption daily) challenges built in.  The tools are all web based and Apps are available for our smart phones. Facebook/ Twitter all integrated.  No need for dreaming up excuses.  Give it a go with the others in our community.  Your buddies will be there to support you.  Dashie has our MadLab facebook page up and going as well.

Initial Workout
You’ll be able to do the benchmark workout Saturday 12noon, Sunday Morn (10am with Chesty) or even Monday or Tuesday.  If none of those work text Tbear or Dash and we’ll sort something.

The 2015 WLC Workout

Warm-up as much as you like with a bare barbell, practice the movement below and get ready for when the clock starts.

The 20 minute clock will start.  You have the 1st 10 minutes to complete your max squat clean.  Leave a little time to rest!

At the 10 min mark you will then start the following workout:

500m Row (buy-in) then AMRAP of this triplet:

• 5 Burpee-Pullups (counts as 10 Reps)
• 10 ABMat Sit-ups (counts as 10 Reps)
• 20 Alternating Lunges (counts as 20 Reps)

Score is heaviest squat clean added to your triplet score.

Example: I hit a 195 sqt clean by the 7min mark, rested till the 500m row by-in then completed 5 rounds and 3 burpee-pullups.

Score 195 + (5×40) + 6 = 401

***As always progressions are allowed for everyone.  Front Squat for newbies.  5 banded Pull-up & 5 Burpees can be subbed.

Love to see you out Saturday,
TBear

Friday

Warm-up: Andy’s Choice

Strength:

1. 6 x 2 Box Squat (add 5 to 10 lb. from last week) – 15 minutes

2. 5 x 2 Power Clean (add 5 – 10 lb. from last week) – 15 minutes

Conditioning: 9 min

3 rounds:

30s thrusters
30s rest
1 min double unders
1 min rest

Optional Finisher: 25-20-15 unbroken wall balls (rest as needed)

Saturday

Warm-up: 15 minutes

2 rounds

20 Band Pull aparts
10 Prone Snow Angels
10 T-spine bridges
10/10 mountain climbers
10 Ring Row and Reach

Skill: 10 minutes

Weighted pull-ups 3×3 (strict)

Conditioning: 25 minutes:

“Balls of Fun” – One ball between two partners

800m ball run
70 wall balls
50 med ball sit-ups
30 burpee chest pass (15 ft. apart)
800m ball run

In our quest to better understand wellness and optimizing your health there are many factors beyond just food, exercise, and sleep you have to consider. Think of them like puzzle pieces. Each of our puzzles differ and the impact of the 10 or so will vary for everyone.  One is alkalinity.  The others to keep in mind (if your wondering) are inflammation, emotions, insulin control, caloric intake, stress and sex hormones, gut bacteria, liver health as well as your thyroid.  Many overlap as well and have significant impacts on the other.

So, I got interested in this because espresso, meat(eggs), and a little sweet potato hash was my go to breakfast.  Pretty much acid on top of more acidic foods to start my day.  Not optimal.

Our body tends to be out of harmony when our food intake is primarily acidic. Ideally we want to work towards 60-70% Alkaline and 30-40% Acidic.

Human blood pH should be slightly alkaline ( 7.35 – 7.45 ).  Below or above this range means symptoms and a quick route to disease.  A pH of 7.0 is neutral.  A pH below 7.0 is acidic.  A pH above 7.0 is alkaline.

An acidic blood pH can occur from, an acid forming diet, emotional stress, toxic overload, and/or immune reactions or any process that deprives the cells of oxygen and other nutrients.  The body will try to compensate for acidic pH by using alkaline minerals – (your bones are the storage houses of calcium and magnesium – so them supporting your blood to get back to alkaline will leave them weakened and thinning).  If the diet does not contain enough minerals to compensate, a build up of acids in your cells will also occur.

An acidic balance will:

• Decrease the body’s ability to absorb minerals and other nutrients
• Decrease the energy production in the cells
• Decrease it’s ability to repair damaged cells,
• Decrease it’s ability to detoxify heavy metals
• Potentially make tumour cells thrive
• Make you more susceptible to fatigue and illness.

When it comes to body fat, the best way to imagine how alkalinity plays a role is to imagine how car battery acid might burn your skin if it touches your hand.  To exaggerate, when blood is constantly pushed to the acidic end of the spectrum, the cells of your body are bathed in it, so to protect themselves from acid burn – they insulate themselves with fat.  So another reason to go more alkaline is to make all those cells feel safe and shed that layer of fatty protection.

The reason acidosis is more common in our society is mostly due to the typical North American Diet (NAD), which is far too high in processed food and grain products, poorly raised meat, eggs and dairy and far too low in alkaline producing foods like fresh vegetables.  Additionally, we eat acid producing processed foods like white flour, corn based products, sugar and drink acid producing beverages like coffee and soft drinks.  We use too many drugs, which are acid forming, and if you use artificial chemical sweeteners like NutraSweet, Splenda, Sweet ‘N Low, Equal, or Aspartame, these are borderline poisons and extremely acid forming according to food experts.  One of the best things we can do to correct an overly acid body is to clean our diet and lifestyle.  Hey – Whole Life Challenge starts in a couple days!!?  Join here

To maintain health, the diet should consist of 60% alkaline forming foods and 40% acid forming foods.  To restore health, the diet should consist of 80% alkaline forming foods and 20% acid forming foods.

Generally, alkaline forming foods include: most fruits, green vegetables, cucumbers, beans, spices, herbs and seasonings, seeds and nuts.

Generally, acid forming foods that we hit a little too much include: grains, legumes, meat, fish, poultry, eggs, dairy, alcohol and coffee.

Although it may seem that citrus fruits would have an acidifying effect on the body, the citric acid they contain actually has an internal alkalinizing effect in the system.  Do the 1/2 lemon in the water every morning.

The food’s acid or alkaline forming tendency in the body has nothing to do with pH of the food itself – i.e. Lemons are very acidic, but the end products they produce after digestion and assimilation are very alkaline forming in the body. Likewise meat tests alkaline before digestion, but leaves acidicly thereafter.

Tbear

Thursday

Warm-up: Coaches Choice of Shoulder Prep (10 minutes)

Skill: (15 minutes)

6×3 kipping hspu (deficit if possible)

or

6 x 6 pike handstand push-ups

Strength: (15 minutes)

6 x 3 Jerk (add 5-10 lb. to what you did last week)

Conditioning: (10 minutes)

EMOM in 10 min: Alternating minutes of 1-3 muscle ups on the even minutes and and 30 seconds of rowing on the odd minutes.

**Sub Muscle ups for 5-10 ring rows if you did ring dips yesterday (Or ring dips if you didn’t do ring dips yesterday)

Optional: Stick around after class for 5 minutes and do 5 minute EMOM of 20 seconds of supine GH hold each minute