HOME

There's a place in my life that I really like alot. 
It's a place that typically offers me some form of peace.  Whether I'm away for the day, for a week or even longer, it's always been the same...it is mine.  I own it.  I'm responsible for it.  Everything about it is familiar and therefore comfortable.  I'm not talking about my penis......  I'm referring to my HOME. Sometimes I like my home to be really fucking neat and tidy.  Other times I could give a shit about some dirty dishes or a dusty coffee table because I have other shit going on in my life and there's no way to keep it perfect all the time.  As easy as it is to "let it go", it's just as easy to clean up a little and see that underneath all that shitty mess exists some really good structure.  Same goes for ourselves.  There isn't any way to keep our body perfect.  You can, however, approach it with the same thought you do your home (hopefully).  You want it to be a desirable place to live.  If you really want to, you can put your home anywhere.  Warm climate, cold climate, forest, city.....next to a place called XXXindy's Asian Massage (it's in Chicago if you're wondering....I didn't make it up).  If you really want to live next to that last one....well, point is, you can.  You can do the same with your physique and train it ANYWHERE.  You can build your home of brick and mortar or wood and nails.  You can do the same with your body chemistry as well.  Nutrition and how you expose yourself to it will drive a majority of your victories, defeats and overall well being.  Carbohydrates, Proteins and Fats are the building materials for your home.  Vitamins, minerals, branch chain amino acids, enzymes....these might be equivalent to utilities in the way of water, gas and electric.  The key is that you find a way to make it all work based off of what you have access to.  Make your home a place you want to live in. 

Find a way to adapt based on what is available to you.  If you were left with a cave and a knife and nothing else, you would have to figure out how to make those two items work to your advantage.  We have access to any fucking thing we want.  If what you want is out of reach financially and you want it bad enough, it can be reality with some good strategy in mind and some good hard work.  So, whether it's hard or easy to attain, ACCESS is going to always be the key.  The access in our society is unfortunately too broad.  What I mean to say is that when we go to the grocery store, we are only one aisle away from fucking it all up.  The dangers are around every corner.  When I stroll my local grocery, I am always one donut away from becoming Johnny Bag'O Donuts.  The meat is right next to the bread section. FUCK ME! One aisle over from the bread section is all the cookies.....FUCK ME MORE!?  Next to the cookies? The fucking candy and all the bullshit that goes with it! FOCK!  Don't get me wrong, I love that shit just as much as my buddy wishes he had the balls to go into XXXindy's, but he doesn't have the sack for it.  Why?  He knows that if he goes in there he's not just going to get a massage.  He would probably end up with some shit that he would regret for the rest of his life.  Something that would more than likely manifest itself in the form of really heavy guilt or perhaps some wierd skin rash that originated in a really seedy part of Europe! Truth be told, he probably wouldn't make it beyond the lobby without a severe panic attack followed by a frantic duck and run out the back door of the joint.  You know who you are!  Bottom line is, stay away from bad shit.  Surround yourself with a good supply of clean food and you'll more than likely be okay.

Cut to the chase Johnny!  Stop playing grab ass over there!  Okay, we all work and we all have schedules to keep based on our profession - This is what I do on a typical day.  I sell spine implants in the Operating Room.  Spinal implants are basically screws, rods and spacers that you don't ever ever want in you unless absolutely medically necessary.  The upside is that I am on my feet for more than half of my day.  Unlike alot of folks, I have the luxury or misfortune, depending on your view, of witnessing both minimal and complex surgery of the spine. You think you have bad days? At least you're not on the table.

I work when my surgeons work. My schedule is their schedule and I train whenever and wherever I can. Within this framework, I have to plan my meals well in advance and at the latest, the night before. I never know if I will have a short day or a long day in the O.R.  Even on short days, I end up dropping into other offices for sales calls.  Unknown, Unknowable.....sound familiar?    

So here we go.  Breakfast Lunch Dinner - FAMILY TIME - WORK - W.O.D. - Not necessarily in that order.  I adhere to the following schedule for approximately 9 out of every 10 meals.  The foods can change, but for me, not very often.  What happened to 10 out of 10?  I eat one cheat meal in that mix of 10 somewhere.  It usually tastes great initially but quickly becomes a job/formality somewhere in the middle of the feast.  The outcome is always ugly.  It usually ends in multiple shit storms......It's not pretty.  Picture Spaulding from Caddyshack discovering the turd in the pool.....Aaaand, there ya' have it.

If I wake up @ 0430 I have a small meal - I call it my 1st Breakfast *4:30 am or eat within 20 minutes of waking up - Protein/Fat/Carb (P/F/C) =2 raw eggs (P) in a glass of  1oz. olive oil (F) with an apple chaser (C). - This is a light meal that agrees with my stomach at an early hour. It hits P/F/C in less than 2 minutes from prep to ingestion.   I also take 1 GelCap of Quell Fish Oil - I will argue that the bioavailability of EPA &  DHA along with purity levels are the best available anywhere.  *Careful on letting temperature drop on your eggs....I'd say you never know but there is a chance for Salmonella....In which case, you can always hard boil the eggs the night before or just hit some nitrite free lunch meat like Boarshead brand.  Knock on wood, I've never become sick from the raw eggs. 

If morning W.O.D. *Recover immediately with whole food in mind or SPN Elite Athlete Recovery *See details below on recovery when I W.O.D.

2nd Breakfast *7-8:30am - Either more eggs (2or3) or 6oz. of meat or 6-8 pieces of bacon (P) + alot of vegetables and/or perhaps some fruit (C) + raw almonds (F)
*If I wake @ 0530 or 0600 I call this my 1st breakfast.

1st Lunch/Snack *10:00-NOON - Avocado (F) or 1 dozen un-brined Olives (F) + Sweet Potato (C)

If mid-morning or NOON W.O.D.  - I will skip the meal if it's closer to NOON, perform the W.O.D. and recover with SPN-Elite Athlete Recovery followed by whole food meal which is listed next under *2nd Lunch. 

2nd Lunch *NOON-2:00 - 6-8 oz. Meat (P) - Shitload of salad which consists of  a half bag of spinach or half bag of spring mix greens.  Or half head of broccoli (C) with Olive Oil (F)  - Sometimes 1 cup of some steamed plain white rice (C) depending on MetCon Volume/Activity levels.  I know Rice is NOT considered PALEO but it is a Gluten Free Starch and our human genome is equipped to break this down without too much bad shit at play - Wheat, however is another story---It's fucked in my opinion.  Therefore, don't eat something that's fucked.

2-4:30 Snack - More nuts - A handful of Walnuts or Shaved Coconut if I already nailed almonds a few times during the day.  I like loading a fair amount of fat.  I typically triple what the Zone diet tells me to do on the fat component.  My energy stores stay pretty solid this way.  I tend to load clean fats late in the day if I know there is a long W.O.D. (20+ minutes) coming that evening or the next morning.  I think this sort of prep is important to keep in mind.  **Know that your carbs burn first, then your protein stores and finally the body looks to your fat stores for energy. 

5-7:00pm Dinner - 7-8 oz. Meat (P),  Loads of Vegetables (C), Any of the following for (F)Coconut-Coconut Oil-Nuts-Olives-Olive Oil-Avocado.

7-9:00pm PreFast - Tablespoon of Almond Butter (F) & some (1 cup) white rice (C).  Or the Almond Butter (F) and a 1/3 of a sweet potato (C).  Or  SPN Pro3 Synergy Protein *If my training volume is up I will do this because it's a great meal replacement and I can't eat that much before bed or my wife hates me....This product is a super clean whole food derivative powder that never upsets my stomach....Ever hear of a "Dutch Oven"?  Well, you can't pull one off properly by eating Pro3 Synergy. 

WATER and Pee color.......
General rule is;1oz. for every pound of bodyweight and additional 12 oz. for every hour of exercise or physical activity.   I drink approximately 120 oz. of Water daily.  I think I weigh about 175#.  I dunno, maybe....I don't use scales as I think they're bullshit.  I have a 40oz. Klean Kanteen and I fill it 3x daily.  I put approx. 1/2 teaspoon of Sea Salt in every fill.  That helps me retain nutrients as opposed to stripping nutrients.  Without the salt I get one giant bolus flushing through my system.....That's some really clear pee....not good. Not enough water?  Really yellow pee....not good.  You'll figure it out...the right color that is.  It's a good thing to retain some water.  If your activity levels are up, you'll need it and your body will perform better that way. 

So that's a typical schedule......Below are points I've developed further so you're clear on why I do what I do.  Again, this works for me. 

Recovery Immediately Post-W.O.D. -I do SPN Elite Athlete Recovery because it's super portable, nutrient dense and exactly built for recovering from intense exercise and all the mini-micro trauma that our muscle tissue goes through with CrossFit. It's pretty tough for me to match this intake with whole food within the 30 minute window necessary for proper recovery. Furthermore, I personally just don't feel like eating immediately. If I do eat, which I do sometimes, I make sure that I have a meal consisting of 2.5 or 3 to 1 Carbohydrate to Protein ratio with a good insulin spike to help transport protein for glycogen replenishment. I make sure the carbs come from a starch or vegetable base of some sort. I also love some sea salt for electrolytes, pottassium and a few vitamins and minerals that will aid in keeping inflammation down and help bolster the recovery process as a first step immediately following training. Not to go overboard on the SPN stuff, but it's built exactly like the meal I just described and it tastes really fucking good.

Philosophy on additional nutrition and Protein - You call them supplements.  I call what I eat, aside from whole food, "additional nutrition".  Whole Food 1st! Additional nutrition whenever necessary.  How do you know if your additional nutrition is safe?  Ask yourself these questions; How closely matched is it to whole food?  Is the protein pre-digested (a.k.a. Hydrosylated)? If it's hydrosylated then I suggest finding one that the body has to break down...In other words, go for the "Isolate" version.  SPN products use Whey and/or Egg White Isolate.  It is a dairy derived product (not-paleo) but is more closely related to whole food.  The whey protein in here is an Isolate and it's from a cow that is grass fed - which is what cows are supposed to eat.  That said, you're not getting whey derived from a sick grain fed cow.  There is also egg white isolated protein in here as well.  Just as bio available to the system and just as potent. 2 sources are better than one.  The upside is that your digestive system will have to do it's job with this one.  Last question as to whether you know if the additional nutrition you're eating is safe or not? Would you feed it to your child?  My answer is YES.  The SPN products are that good.  Furthermore, there are NO-chemicals, stimulants, unknown ingredients, fillers, gluten, soy, dyes or artificial ingredients.


**Fat for Energy - I spoke about fats earlier in this post.....Perhaps this will help you understand the need for clean fats as they relate to performance.
I always like to draw the correlate to reality TV when it comes to fat. You know those survival shows where they drop some poor bastard in the middle of the wilderness and the guy has to survive off the land?  If it's that Bear Grylls character, he's pretty smart.....notice he always goes for water first.  Makes sense right? Water is second to oxygen as the key to life.  Next he looks for shit that gives him energy.  He needs Fat!  Fat is energy.  Insects usually are a good source.  Grubs....that fucker is always eating grubs.  Or frogs or mice or some type of animal.  If it is an animal, he always gobbles up the whole think.....and he feasts on the fat.  Picture a Vegan in Mr. Grylls shoes (enter Anti-Vegan rant).  This hippie usually ends up getting sicker than shit.  They have a tendency to think that the plants they've ID'd are safe and nutrient dense.  What they unfortunately are is DEADLY.....the Vegan then gets a raging case of the shits due to the toxic properties of the plant followed by dehydration and then.....well we know the rest of the story......Dead Hippie....then a big fucking army troop of ants eat him from the inside out.  Some of that could be true... I dunno?... maybe.   I just think vegetarianism is senseless.  Pretty sure it was Loren Cordain who stated that if you're stranded in a jungle or the woods or some shit, 50% of all the plants that you encounter and decide to eat will make you really fucking sick or possibly kill you.  But when you see something with legs, you pretty much know you  can eat it.  I like that theory.  Let's me sleep at night with warm stick in hand knowing that I could whack a squirrel if shit got heavy in my neighborhood.  Better yet, I live right next to the Detroit Zoo.....Hmmmm


Protein for Recovery?  There's more to it....
I feel that too many folks out there, athletes and product companies, push protein, Protein, PROTEIN for recovery.  The hype is in the marketing....My opinion? It's all bullshit.  Sure you need protein, but that's not all.  If some company out there advises you to pound a major dose of Protein post W.O.D. in order to recover, I will tell you that's clearly not the way recovery works.  I will also tell you that the company saying it is only interested in money and that what they are telling you is fucked.  Remember, don't eat something that's fucked!

If you train with function, variance and intensity YOU NEED CARBS.  There's been alot of bullshit flying around lately on the wire (internet) about dumb ass CrossFitters who go Paleo and find themselves subsiding in a Ketogenic state.  Ketogenic means that you eat High Fat, Adequate Protein and Low Carbohydrates.  If you're a CrossFitter, this IS a recipe for disaster.  Truly fucking stupid, idiotic and very dangerous.  Find the carbs!  They can be found in veggies, fruits and of course starches.  Starches are perfectly fine if you have the activity levels to burn them.  If you CrossFit and you do it right, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say it's okay to tweak your nutrition with some potatoes or some rice.  Play with it. See how you feel.  You'd be shocked how many athletes that I have met that find themselves going Paleo and their energy levels run low after 5 or 6 weeks.....hmmm that's weird?   When asked what they eat?  Carb intake is barely adequate....and they wonder why performance is inconsistent.  Eat the FOCKING CARBS!!!!

So now you have an idea of what I do.  I think of my body as my HOME.   I want to continue speaking to points on nutritional timing and performance. So stay with me and I will continue to develop the "rest of the story".   Please know that I am constantly evolving just like you are.  My life, my training, my physical well being and my constant need to move toward being FIT.   My meals may vary, but the overall components stay the same.  I divide my plate into thirds and run with a Protein, Fat & Carb in my primary meals.  Snacks run in similar fashion but just not as large.  I try to keep my HOME in good condition.  By that I mean a place that can accept the un-announced visitor (by the way I hate that, don't fucking do that to me if you know me.  I need a heads up or shit gets really awkward). 

I'll leave you with this, because I always want you to know who you're dealing with over here.  I'm Johnny of Johnny's W.O.D.  I love CrossFit but I love nutrition even more.  Most importantly, I love my family.  I have a wife of 19 years and a really cool couple of kids.  With 20+ years of anatomy, physiology and biomechanical training, I tend to coach with safety always at the forefront. Furthermore, I do my best to prescribe the most logical programming and recovery I can muster in order to mimimize overuse injuries. You pretty much know my nutrition philosophy, but in case you need a refresher here it is; Whole Food 1st - Additional Nutrition whenever necessary.  I believe that good clean low inflammatory nutrition can play a HUGE part in minimizing degenerative disease. I believe that good nutrition can mimimize tissue breakdown. Finally, I believe that good nutrition and timing can equip an athlete to perform at their very best. I am a parrot! Here it goes again -Eat shitty, perform shitty. Eat good, perform good. Eat better, perform better. Work your fucking ass off with really good pre-wod, inner-wod and post-wod nutrition and you'll do shit you never thought possible on the box floor.

W.O.W. - W.O.D. Of the Week
I did this one on Friday @ New Species CrossFit - Please follow the link and go extra hard in order to honor a Fallen Hero who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.  God Bless America! Pass your mouse over just below this line....it's there I promise...I have to change the colors ...Fock
http://www.unleashtheevolution.com/?p=3051

Until next week.....Stay strong!
Peace - Johnny