Headed Off To China

In just a few hours I will be hopping a plane with colleagues to Beijing, China for a month. The opportunity to work with athletes from another country for a month looks to be as challenging as it is compelling. En route with me is long time friend and coach Rett Larson, as well as staff from Athletes' Performance AZ - Director of Performance John Stemmerman, and Director of Physical Therapy Sue Falsone. The trip from Boston came with an unexpected 24 hour layover in Huntington Beach, CA,

I can be contacted at the following

Email - jaycock@me.com

Cell - 714-350-5704 I can receive text but not send back. Hit me up to say hello. My voicemail will be turned off

Facebook??

Whole 30 paleo Challenge - Week # 1

After completing seven days of the Whole 30 Paleo Challenge (perfect eating for one month) I can say my motivation to stay on track has improved. Once a goal is set and you start making progress it helps when progress comes quickley. As my colleague Victor Hall reminds me "Success breeds motivation". Victor is my model for success. After transforming himself from 180 lbs and +20% body fat down to a 155 lbs. and 7% body fat using these methods of clean eating, carb restriction, and exercise how could I not follow. Here are my numbers for the week.

• Start weight 8/1 - 186 lbs.
• End weight 8/6 - 179 lbs.
• Start Body Fat 8/1 - 17.2%
• End Body Fat 8/6 - 16.2%
• Ave Calories - 1684 kcal
• Ave Protein - 122 grams
• Ave Fat - 112 grams
• Ave Carbs - 46 grams

Being that it was week #1 i am still playing with my numbers. I started out with my calories very low and let them creep up over the week as my body dictated. I would like to bring my protein up while keeping my carbs between 50-75 grams. My appetite is increasing with the addition of cardio. I am using an unweighed and unmeasured approach for the most part. But I do track my calories so I can see where I am at by days end using Daily Burn . Additionally I track my weight daily as part of Pirate Project 3.0 even though the Whole 30 says not to. I will be adding my Strength / Fitness/ Skills Training to the blog in a future post. Here is a peek at what I am gunning for.

The 3 Month Goal - October 30th

Body Fat - Sub 10%

Body Weight - ??? This is a mystery. Somewhere between 170- 180 lbs.

Strength

• Deadlift 400 lbs.
• Clean and Jerk - 200 lbs

Fitness

• 5K Run - 25 minutes
• 5K Row - 19 minutes
• 10K Row - 45 minutes

Skill

• Handstand Push Ups - 5
• Muscle Ups - 10

Train Fun!

Going All In - The Whole 30 Perfect Paleo Challenge

We Pirates are at it again. After the past four months of experimenting with some Paleo protocols I feel I have the last few pieces to implement for best results. For the next 30 days we are attempting the Whole 30. Eating only whole, non processed foods while excluding all dairy, legumes, and grains. This is a "reset" to get things in order for a 3 month performance challenge. I need to lose fat to gain muscle. Goal is 10% body fat. Additionally my joints simply feel better on a carb restricted, high fat, high protein diet. Not to mention my ADHD brain. More on that in another post. This week is baseline testing and getting my food dialed in. Here is a peek at my proposed nutrition for week 1.

• Protein - 175 grams /700 kcals
• Carbohydrate - 50-75 grams / 200 - 300 kcals
• Fat - 75 grams / 675 kcals
• Total calories approximately 1700.

Based on the research, personal experimenting, and reading from the following authors we are ready to give this a go.

Loren Cordaine - Paleo Diet For Athletes

Robb Wolf - The Paleo Solution

Mark Sisson - primal Blueprint

Gary Taubes - Why We Get Fat

Barry Sears - The Zone

John Berardi - Articles from his website

The only difference between this month and the following 2 months will be a weekly cheat meal / day. It has been my personal experience that if I run my diet at 90% compliance all goes well. At 89% compliance or below the wheels fall off the bus. Go figure. I have learned this lesson the hard way in many aspects of life. It is impossible to be perfect but if you are serious and want to do this or anything well you better go all in. I am not opposed to keeping balance but it doesn't seem to work well for me. Ha.

Again this is a personal experiment. I will likely be adjusting the protocol every two weeks as I check my results and look to improve on my findings.

Train Fun!

Joshua

Jump Roping In July - Double Unders

If you are stuck on Double Unders then this post is for you. So many athletes tell me that they can't do them or are just plain bad. We have had great success with this skill and believe with a few adjustments you can check them off your list.Lets take a look at a rough technical model to see if we can get you up to 50 unbroken reps by the end of the week.

Double Under Quick List

• A longer, heavier rope is easier to learn but limits high end performance
• Attempt doubles like you do singles - relaxed and without kicking your heels to your glutes
• The rope MUST touch the floor on each rep
• Arms close to your sides hands slightly out in front
• Chest Up for better posture and alignment to support more elastic jumps
• Finally - Practice, Practice, Practice - You should be able to add double unders nearly every time you attempt them.

The nice thing about this skill is that it is self limiting. You either get it or you don't. Your body will start to make minor adjustments to master the skill immediately.

Double Unders

Single Stretch Saturday - Loosen Up Your Tight Quads

Position A.

Stretching is a funny topic. There are so many categories and variations. Rather than tackle the whole cornucopia we have decided to share one stretch with you. Our belief is that it is better to invest more time on one thing than to dilute with too much variety. That said over the next year will will certainly give you more stretches, postures, Asanas, routines, and variations than you will ever need. My apologies in advance.

Before and after your next run or lift take on this Half Kneeling Quad / Hip Flexor Stretch. This is such an effective way to get a deep positional stretch for the culprit of many of our lower extremity woes. Sore knees, mobility at the knee and hip, and low back pain.

Guidelines which you will likely not follow

1. Be gentle - no need to rip it apart
2. Breath - holding your breath = unneeded tension in the tissue
3. Hold the Position A. for at least two full breath cycles then transition to Position B.
4. Try 3 rounds 3 reps on each side switching legs each set.
5. If you are tight like I am on one side I don't bother stretching the looser side more than once.

Position B.

1. 

From Worst to Less Worse - Moving to the right.

Primal Blueprint - Lessons from author Mark Sisson - From worst to less worse

The second thing we learned from a lecture from Mark Sisson was the value of moving to the right on the spectrum scale. He was quick to point out that if we can get you to move from 5 cups of coffee per day to 2 then we have made a positive change. Though he proposes a "best" model there is supreme value in any change that improves your health.

What can you do to improve your health and nutrition to simply make it better?

Less junk food in the house?

Eat more whole foods?

Keep a food journal for accountability?

Give it a try.

Primal Blueprint - Lessons from author Mark Sisson Carbs

One of my favorite books on nutrition is Primal Blueprint by author and Paleo enthusiast Mark Sisson. After hearing him speak he made three comments that stuck with me.

1. He mentioned that the "Carbohydrate Curve" is his proudest achievement in this book. He said that reading and hearing stories of his followers losing 50 lbs or more and regaining their health is of the greatest feelings possible. Additionally the reason he believes in this chart so convincingly is seeing it work for the serious athlete who eats and trains well and is looking to lose those last 5-10 lbs. of fat around their midsection. Following the 100 gram Carb guideline it has proven itself time and again.

The Primal Blueprint Carbohydrate Curve

What’ll It Be? The “Sweet Spot” or the “Danger Zone”?

Carbohydrate intake is often the decisive factor in weight loss success and prevention of widespread health problems like Metabolic Syndrome, obesity and type 2 diabetes. These average daily intake levels assume that you are also getting sufficient protein and healthy fats, and are doing some amount of Primal exercise. The ranges in each zone account for individual metabolic differences.

0-50 grams per day: Ketosis and I.F. (Intermittent Fasting) zone. Excellent catalyst for rapid fat loss through I.F. Not recommended for prolonged periods (except in medically supervised programs for obese or Type 2 diabetics) due to unnecessary deprivation of plant foods.

50-100 grams per day: Sweet Spot for Weight Loss. Steadily drop excess body fat by minimizing insulin production. Enables 1-2 pounds per week of fat loss with satisfying, minimally restrictive meals.

100-150 grams per day: Primal Maintenance zone. Once you’ve arrived at your goal or ideal body composition, you can maintain it quite easily here while enjoying abundant vegetables, fruits and other Primal foods.

150-300 grams a day: Insidious Weight Gain zone. Most health conscious eaters and unsuccessful dieters end up here, due to frequent intake of sugar and grain products (breads, pastas, cereals, rice, potatoes – even whole grains). Despite trying to “do the right thing” (minimize fat, cut calories), people can still gain an average of 1.5 pounds of fat every year for decades.

300+ grams a day: Danger Zone of average American diet. All but the most extreme exercisers will tend to produce excessive insulin and store excessive fat over the years at this intake level. Increases risk for obesity, Metabolic Syndrome and type 2 diabetes.