June is Nutrition Focus Month @ F5 Fitness!

In 5 weeks 3 fighters from the F5 Fight Team will be competing in Iowa at the Muay Thai Classic Amateur Tournament. Natalie, Jackie and Christen are currently training hard for their upcoming bouts and are excited to represent the gym at this annual event.

There is a lot that goes into training for a fight: focus, time, energy, blood, sweat, bruises and of course the discipline to eat a strict diet so that the fighters can get to their fight weight safely and effectively.

It was initially Muay Thai training that got me interested in nutrition.  I wanted to eat in a way that allowed me to train hard, recovery well and stay lean and energetic.

The real food diet described in the F5 Nutrition Guide that our members know today was developed from my extensive research and education as well as my experience as an athlete and with clients over the years.

My mentors Sean Croxton & Robb Wolf have taught me so much through their work and I’m proud to pass on a tradition of real food living to my fighters and students.

This month in June and all the way through until the fighters compete July 6-8 I propose that we as a gym (and anyone that wants to join us) focus on our Nutrition with the F5 fighters.  Dustin likes to call it “diet solidarity”. He always ate what I ate when I was getting ready for fights. It’s easier to make healthy changes and eat clean when you know others are right there with you.

For those of you that have the F5 Nutrition Guide you are in for a treat.  In the next few days I will be sending our a newly re-vamped version of our “food bible” to monthly members and personal training clients. Thanks to F5 student and talented designer Rebecca Berdel of PRQ Design.

If you haven’t read our nutrition guide it’s simple really - just eat a diet based on meats, poultry, fish, eggs, lots of organic veggies, some nuts and fruits and a good amount of healthy fats like coconut oil, avocado, olive oil and grass-fed butter. Don’t eat grains, dairy, legumes or foods with added sugar and limit your alcohol consumption (nix the mixers and beer!). Our fighters certainly don’t eat processed food when getting ready for a fight, so bars, cereals, breads, pastas, desserts and sugary drinks are definitely out of the question. Just keep things simple, from the source and try to cook at home a lot.

The F5 Guide has lots of details, but you can get lots of valuable info by searching this blog for nutrition tags: http://roxyfit.tumblr.com/search/nutrition

This month I urge everyone to treat their body like a fighter does. Our fighters eat food that nourishes and fuels their workouts and consequently that same way of eating will unveil a sexy new you for summer! ;)

This is not a strict challenge, it’s a focus - our fighters sometime have very small treats while in training, just to mentally make it through, but they never fall off the wagon entirely. Give yourself a small cheat every week if you need it. Try following the 80/20 principle or my “school nights approach” if that works for you.

If you have any hard days over these next 5 weeks just remember that there are 3 fighters, several F5 trainers and many students that feel the same way as you. Let their discipline fuel your success!  We can all do this together. When the BF truck comes back for testing in August you will all be looking your summer best if you put in the work now!

During your nutrition focus please post recipes, pictures, words of encouragement and cries for help on the F5 FB page:

https://www.facebook.com/F5FitnessLA

OR reply to us on Twitter @F5FitnessLA

https://twitter.com/f5fitnessla

Here’s to a fit and healthy summer at F5!

Roxy Richardson

31 May 2012 ·

• Tags
• nutrition
• diet
• fighters

What is Fascia? Movement, Massage & Making Happy Muscles

Fascia is a structure of connective tissue that surrounds muscles, groups of muscles, blood vessels, and nerves, binding some structures together, while permitting others to slide smoothly over each other.

If fascia is not “melted” by stretching, foam rolling or bodywork like massage, it will get contorted, dense and unhealthy. Unhealthy fascia will then bind to muscles, limiting movement and overtime leading to pain and injury. Fascia not only can literally be a pain in the neck when left without some routine TLC, but it will hold on to emotional pain which only compounds the stress on your body.

 Listen to master trainer Todd Durkin talk about fascia on the Underground Wellness YouTube Channel. 

For those that can handle a more graphic description watch this video by Gil Hedley, Ph.D. on how Fascia works.   

Want to get your fascia working for you? 

These are the F5 recommended Step for Healthy Fascia:

1. Foam roll a minimum of 3 times per week. F5 trainers foam roll before their workouts and often in between workouts!
2. Stretch after every workout! Flexibility is necessary to athleticism.
3. Get at the minimum a monthly massage. You deserve it for working so hard!  Really tight clients will need weekly massages until they can be on a monthly maintenance plan. Schedule a massage with F5 Therapist Alexander Grosvenor today.
4. Take Tyler’s Sunday Recovery & Mobility Class!  It will make your fascia so happy :)

8 May 2012 ·

• Tags
• massage
• recovery
• fascia
• pain-free
• strethcing

How to be a Real Food Pro - Planning & Cooking 101

Meal Planning & Cooking 101

Knowing what to eat and why is a big step toward achieving your health & fitness goals, but only the first part of a journey.  Being a health rockstar means that you to put that knowledge into action.  Today we’ll discuss planning, storing and cooking your healthy nom-noms… as we always say,

“Great abs start in the kitchen!” 

Write it down:

Think about what you want to make throughout the week & write it down on your grocery list. Keep all 3 meals in mind. Do some math. This is 15 total meals per week plus a few snacks.

Pick a Shopping Day:

Keeping up with a routine is a good way to help keep you on track with anything. This will also give you an idea of how much food you consume on a weekly or bi-weekly basis so that you don’t over or under shop.

Set a Budget & Stick to It:

In the beginning this may change a little as you might not know how much food you need in a week. Give it a couple of weeks & you should have a pretty good idea. For example, Natalie knows she spend around $70 per week on food, which gives her some great budgeting powers. You will save money & prevent food wasting.

Get to Know the Shelf Life of Foods:

All foods are not created equal! Knowing how long something will stay fresh is imperative. For example, leafy greens will only last for about roughly 6 days in the refrigerator so you should probably eat them in the 1^st half of the week. Here is an estimated shelf life chart of some popular fruit & veggie choices. Print it out and put it on your fridge for reference!

Vegetable & Fruit Shelf Life

1-2 Days: Artichokes, Asparagus, Bananas ,Basil, Broccoli, Cherries, Dill, Mushrooms, Strawberries, Watercress

2-4 Days: Arugula, Avocados, Cucumbers, Eggplant,
Grapes, Lettuce, Limes, Pineapple, Zucchini,

4-6 Days: Apricots, Blueberries, Brussels Sprouts
Cauliflower, Grapefruit, Leeks, Lemons, Oranges, Oregano, Parsley, Peaches, Pears, Peppers, Plums, Spinach, Tomatoes, Watermelon,

7+ Days: Apples, Beets, Cabbage, Celery, Carrots Garlic Squash, Onions Sweet, Potatoes

Know Food Storage Methods:

Knowing the proper way to store & keep fruit & veggies will help save you a lot of wasted food. Here are a few pointers on simple food storage.

• Keep most veggies in the crisper. Most veggies require light oxygen to prevent botulism.
•   Wrap odorous foods such as cauliflower before storing in crisper
•   Some veggies/tubers such as onions & potatoes require no refrigeration. Store in an open cool dark area
•  Keep hard-rind fruits & veggies on counter such as bananas, apples, avocados, eggplant, rutabagas, & tomatoes until ripe, them put them in the fridge
•  Keep all berries, cherries, peaches, nectarine, & grapes in vented container in fridge
•   Melons can be stored on the counter until ripe

Leftovers are Yummy and Cost Effective:

Sometimes you may not be quite as hungry as others due to many variables such as sleep or exercise. You can store leftovers for lunch the next day, or even eat them for breakfast! We recommend using Pyrex glass storage containers reduce your plastic toxin exposure. Soups, stir-frys and stews make great leftovers.

Freeze It:

If there are too many leftovers from a meal you can freeze them for a rainy day.  We suggest making extra soups and stews especially for this reason. They freeze and re-heat very nicely. Make sure to have Ziplock freezer bags on hand for easy storage. This is also true with fruits & veggies that have ripened. If you know you won’t be able to eat them, cut them up & freeze them. Freezing bulk meat you buy is okay too. Just thaw it out in the refrigerator the night before your ready to use it.

Now You’re Ready for Cooking 101!

Learn to love the kitchen – think of it like your health & fitness wing-man (or wing-woman). It’s always there for you to ensure your success! Left to your own devices it’s hard to score. Just like with dating Google is also your friend! Search for free recipes and tips, just type in “Paleo” and the type of dish you want to cook.

There are 5 basic steps to remember:

Refer to the previous article(s) for food choice specifics.

1. Pick a Protein - meat, poultry, fish or eggs (The size of your fist for most, 2 fists for larger guys/athletes)

2. Pick a Fat - coconut oil, grass-fed butter, lard, olive oil, nuts, avocado (This is in addition to the fat in your protein 1-2)

3. Pick a Spice or a couple
4. Pick a Veggie or a couple – (Make sure you get a variety in every week)
5. Choose Cooking Methods (Bake, Grill, Pan Fry, Sear, Steam….you get the idea)

Pro Tip:

Remember that you don’t need to weigh and measure your food.  Prepare food to taste and eat until satiated, but not stuffed.  It is very difficult to over eat healthy, simple home prepared meals that are protein and fat based.  You will be full naturally. Those chips and cookies, you shouldn’t keep in your pantry, yeah those are a different story.

Daily Example Meals

Breakfast:

            -2 Eggs (Protein)

            -Pan Fried in Coconut Oil (Healthy Fat)

            -With Black Pepper (Spice)

            -And a side of Baked Asparagus (Veg)

Lunch:

            -Baked Chicken Breast (Protein)

            -Seasoned with Rosemary & Sage (Spices)

            - Served Over a Spinach Salad w/ Celery, Onions, & Tomatoes

              (Veg)

            -Tossed in Olive Oil & Light Balsamic Vinegar (Healthy Fat)

Dinner:

-Grilled Salmon (Protein)

            -Sprinkled with Cajun & Paprika (Spices)

            -And Coated with Grass-Fed Butter (Healthy Fat)

-Served with a Side of Steamed Broccoli (Veg)

This should give you a little something to work with. All of us healthy fitness pros were given the same basics that you were. The magic happens when you put it into action and start figuring out meals for yourself and your family. We must all sift through by trial & error. Everyone is just a little bit different; all you have to do is start cooking, pay attention to your body, and tweak things to get the best results. It only gets easier from here we promise J And most of all, don’t forget to get creative! Happy Cooking!!!

- Natalie Morgan, Roxy Richardson & the F5 Team

9 April 2012 ·

• Tags
• Paleo
• paleo diet
• nutrition
• cooking

My Response to the Harvard Red Meat Study

Many of you have asked me today my opinion on red meat intake due to recent media hype of it’s health effects.

You can always count on a some new study to come out that is trying to put the blame on “old school” foods for new modern diseases and even death. You have probably seen in the new Harvard Medical Study saying that red meat consumption is linked to early death. If not read the actual study and not an article on the study.  If you don’t know how to read scientific studies, learn or you won’t ever really know what’s going on with your health. I’m no scientist, but a while ago to help further my nutrition education I dove into reading research studies because I care about my health, the health of my clients and above all the TRUTH!

You can never take an article about a study at face value (even this one). Be your own researcher, be your own health detective and above all, notice how food makes you feel, look and perform.  Your body knows best, trust it… Oh, and use some common sense (more on this later)…

Disclaimer: I am not a scientist, this is simply my professional opinion as a health & fitness professional, but I will give some quotes at the end from actual scientists.

1) What’s your definition of red meat? In the study many things were counted as “red meat” such as pork, bacon, hotdogs, sausage, salami, bologna and other processed meats. (pork was queried separately only after the first 10 years of the study). You and I both know that processed meats are not an optimal protein source. Just using common sense I can’t imagine that eating processed meats regularly is a good idea, but somehow this gets counted as red meat eating?

2) Quality Control! I eat grass-fed red meat as much as possible. It delicious and so much healthier than commercially raised meat, and definitely healthier than processed commercially raised meat. You can read all about the benefits of Grass-Fed meat in My article: Steak and the Power of Green - How many want to bet that most of the people in this study did not eat grass-fed meat? It was the 70’s 80’s and 90’s y’all - I don’t think the term “grass-fed” existed then - did it?!

3) Pop Quiz: What do MOST people eat their beef with?  If you said a hamburger bun, fries and a coke you get a gold star! When doing a study that involves a questionnaire there are so many flaws, who’s to say that red meat eaters in the study were not all french fry eaters and coke drinkers and if so what’s really to blame for their death?  The “feared” red meat or the inflammatory, processed vegetable oils and the insulin spiking high fructose corn syrup full of chemicals??? 

Here’s a direct quote from the study: “Questionnaire items about unprocessed red meat consumption included “beef, pork, or lamb as main dish” (pork was queried separately beginning in 1990), “hamburger,” and “beef, pork, or lamb as a sandwich or mixed dish.” The standard serving size was 85 g (3 oz) for unprocessed red meat.”

Personally I eat way over 3 ounces of red meat per day and my doctor says I have some of the best lab scores of all her patients.  The difference is I eat my red meat grass-fed with a side of spinach and some baked sweet potatoes - Yum!  My meat never comes as a “sandwich” and my red meat is never in meatball form with spaghetti. Who is the real devil here: The red meat that we have been eating for hundred and thousands of years OR our processed, carb rich diets full of breads, pastas and other grains that come with a 3 oz serving of poor quality, often processed “red” meat?

4) People that shun red meat may do other “healthy” things like exercise, skip dessert, eat more veggies and pet puppy dogs at the park. You get the idea.  There is no way in a study of this size to factor in all the healthy choices people make in addition to their red meat habits.

5) People who ate more than 3500 calories were excluded from the study.  We excluded 5617 men and 5613 women who… reported implausible energy intake levels (<500 or >3500 kcal/d). I get it, you don’t want anorexics or obese people in the study or those that overeat considerably because it might throw off statistics, but I know plenty of VERY healthy and fit red meat eaters who eat way more than 3500 calories a day, they are called athletes. :)

6) Don’t take my word for it.  Do this test yourself: For one month eat a vegetarian diet full of grains, dairy and legumes or even go raw food vegan if you are brave enough. Then the next month eat Grass-fed beef, wild caught fish, pastured poultry and eggs, grass-fed butter, coconut oil, lots of organic veggies and NO grains, dairy or legumes. Then write me and tell me how you look feel and perform. Or you can save yourself the trouble and just take my word for it, I was vegetarian and even raw food vegan for a total of 20 years. Now I eat lots of red meat, fish, poultry and eggs of GOOD quality and tons of veggies, some fruit and nuts and very little or no grains, dairy and legumes (avoiding all gluten and soy completely). I feel awesome, I look better than I did when I was 21, I have no health complaints (I had quite a few before) and my lab work rocks. Case closed.

Okay, enough about me, as promised…smart people that agree with me:

On the validity of the recent Harvard study…

“Red meat has been perceived as a villain for many years, and people who avoid red meat take all sorts of precautionary measures for their future health. It is not possible to statistically adjust for all of these measures.” Staffan Lindeberg, M.D., an associate professor of medicine at the University of Lund, Sweden.

On red meat consumption…

“Short of doing a statistical analysis, let’s consider if there are ANY examples of populations who consume significant amounts of red meat who DO NOT see deleterious health effects. That’s a pretty easy answer, the Inuit Diet. In the article it’s called the “Inuit Paradox” because it is assumed that meat is unhealthful. This is the same story as the French/Spanish paradoxes(i?) that cultures who eat loads of fat are neither as fat nor as sick as North Americans.” Robb Wolf, author of The Paleo Solution, is a former research biochemist and one of the world’s leading experts in Paleolithic nutrition.

On studies we see in the media:

“The point of this post is that you shouldn’t get wound up about a study that gets reported throughout the media because there are more than likely other studies that are just as well done and just as important showing exactly the opposite findings that the press chooses to ignore.  You’re not seeing the science as it is, you’re seeing the science as the press wants you to see it, which, typically, is the way that confirms the bias of members of the press.” Dr. Michael Eades. Since 1986 Dr. Eades has been in the full time practice of bariatric, nutritional, and metabolic medicine.

On the importance of grass-fed meat…

“The case for increasing omega-3 fatty acids in the U.S. diet has broad and wide sweeping potential to improve human health. Specifically, omega-3 fatty acids and their balance with omega-6 fatty acids play an important role in the prevention and treatment of coronary heart disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, arthritis and other inflammatory diseases, autoimmune diseases, and cancer.”

“On average grass produced beef contains 60 mg of LC omega-3 fatty acids whereas grain produced beef contains roughly half as much (28.5 mg). Accordingly, at current levels of beef consumption in the U.S. (82 g/day) grass fed beef would contribute 20 % of the recommended LC omega-3 fatty acids while grain produced beef contributes 9.5 % of these fatty acids. Once again a more nutritionally relevant comparison is by energy. In order to achieve 50 % of the recommended LC omega-3 fatty acids (150 mg) it would require 295 kcal from a grass produced serving of beef, whereas to reach a similar level, it would require 673 kcal from grain produced beef. In summary, the concentrations of both 18:3n3 and LC omega-3 fatty acids are significantly greater in grass produced beef than in grain produced beef, and when considered on an energetic basis support the notion that increased consumption of grass fed beef could provide an important source of omega-3 fatty acids in the U.S. diet.” Loren Cordain, Ph.D., the world’s leading expert on Paleolithic diets

On meat quality…

“There’s a tremendous difference in the quality of protein in the meat from an animal given steroids and one raised on its own accord. The one given steroids is lacking certain essential amino acids.The US Department of Agriculture has approved the feeding of sawdust, plastic chips, industrial waste, sewage, cement dust, and dead animal parts to commercially raised animals. These are toxins, and the body stores toxins in fat.This causes the animal to pack on tremendous amounts of fat because all animal bodies, including humans, use fat to wall toxins off away from the nervous system and the vital organs. When they sell these animals, they don’t do body fat checks on them and say that some are too fat. So what they’re essentially doing is selling us huge amounts of toxic fat. Red meat isn’t bad for you, but commercially raised and poisoned meat is.” Paul Chek, Holistic Health Practitioner, founder of the C.H.E.K Institute

Eat Healthy Feel Good xo Roxy

13 March 2012 ·

• Tags
• meat
• paleo
• health

Body Fat, Eating Paleo & Thoughts on Motivation

Many of our clients at Function 5 Fitness made some big commitments to themselves this Holiday season.  We started offering a new service to our members, Hydrostatic weighing. It’s a very accurate test of lean mass and body fat & that is done by “dunking” you in water and blowing out all the air from your lungs. Good times!

Our brave clients did the test in December knowing that the truck would be coming back in February.  We thought that this might at least help people not back slide over the holidays, and maybe some would even get positive results.  Some really daring folks decided to sign up for our BF Challenge where the winner losing the most % of body fat got a cash prize and 2 free personal training sessions.

After we all came back from the Holidays having indulged a little, traveled more and exercised less, we decided to step up our game in January with a Real Food Paleo Challenge. The guidelines where simple: No grains, no dairy, no legumes, no sugar (added), no fake sugar, no alcohol, and avoiding anything packaged or processed. Some really shined in the Challenge, other took some of the suggested guidelines to heart and some decided to stick to their ways.

Here’s a confession.  I think nutrition challenges are good because they offer people a chance to “reset” and focus on their food.  People need some rules and structure to create new habits and reset their taste buds.  I’ll continue to have challenges at my gym, but personally I find myself going crazy with challenges, and much prefer a step by step approach, creating one good habit and making it a part of my life, then adding another. That’s pretty much how I evolved in this Paleo nutrition thing over the years.

On a strict challenge I’m 100% good for maybe 2 weeks and then find myself going a bit “stir crazy”. Instead in daily life I prefer the 80/20 rule.  I eat “clean” Paleo 18 out of my 21 meals a week and about 3 meals a week I’m kicking back having a little white rice, corn, cheese or ice cream….mmmm ice cream. The one rule I always follow though is being gluten free 100%. I also never eat/drink corn syrup or partial hydrogenated veggie oils. Yuck! I also don’t eat shit just because it’s there and I am “due” a “cheat”.  I kick back when the opportunity presents it’s self I don’t plan binges like a junkie. Then I just go back to business as usual the next meal.

Anyway, enough about me.  I just want you guys to know I’m human too and although I may educate and lecture about nutrition I want to offer realistic options to build these habits into you life in a way that is positive and healthy.  There is some truth to the saying, “I’d rather you eat the wrong foods with good feelings than the right foods with bad feelings.” Although I don’t entirely agree with that the take away is that quality food is important and understanding real food nutrition is important, knowing what you put in your body and what it’s doing is crucial… but don’t get all friggin’ neurotic on me and start weighing and measuring and over analyzing and guilt driving your ass like a moron.  That behavior will get you sick and/or fat in no time.

Okay, I know some of you just want to know who the winner is, but before I announce the hard working winner I wanted to offer some thoughts on motivation.  I noticed that our clients that made the biggest jumps in body composition were clients who had very clear athletic goals.  One new fighter-in-training made an astounding leap. Other non-fighter clients who I see as very physically goal oriented hit great BF goals to. The lesson here is make physical performance your priority, dial in your food and the results will skyrocket!

Fighting may be a weight dominated sport, but the emphasis is obviously on performance. Train like and athlete and you might make some progress, but THINK like an athlete and you’ll make even better progress.

I also noticed that in most cases, class attendance had a lot to do with hitting BF goals… BIG surprise, right? Just show up, eat well and magical things happen ;)

Okay, I know you’ve waited long enough, so the contest winner for the Winter Body Fat Challenge is…

Ryan Stafford! Congrats Ryan - He lost the highest percentage of his body fat from his December test to this month’s test - 14% difference overall. We won’t be disclosing actual numbers, for privacy. (Thanks!) Ryan come pick up your cash prize and make sure to schedule your sessions with me soon :)

I’d also like to give props to Eric Powell 2nd place, and Stefanie Budiman 3rd place. There were no 2nd and 3rd place prizes, but be proud anyways, you guys worked hard!

Thanks for everyone’s hard work, the BF truck will be back the 1st week of May, and yes we’ll have another challenge! :)

Hugs & Punches,

Roxy

P.S. Please excuse any typos.  I have a million things to do today, thanks!

9 February 2012 ·

• Tags
• paleo diet
• real food
• body fat
• motivation

2012 Goals - Dream Big, Appreciate the Little Things

Every December I get thinking about my goals and plans for the coming year.  It’s also a particularly special time for me because I have a birthday in early January.  Oh thanks, you’re so sweet! You don’t have to get my anything… But if you really want to I have an Amazon Wishlist under my name (Roxy Richardson) :D

Anyways, every year I make a goals list and tack it to my fridge so I can see it everyday.  The point of the goals list is not to beat myself up if I fall short of a goal.  The point is to keep me motivated and focused through the year. My aim is to align my actions everyday with my goals. Some goals are big some are small but they are all important.

I often find at the end of the year that I have hit a few of my goals, but not all of them.  What’s more interesting to me is that sometimes I change and what was important to me at the beginning of last year is not as important to me at the end.  My priorities have shifted and I’m okay with that. I think about it deeply, make sure I’m not having a case of sour grapes, which most of the time I am not and I simply greet my new shift of perspective warmly and move forward.

This year I hit only 2 of 9 – but the ones I nailed were big ones.  #1 I opened a new gym and made it financially successful within a year. #2 I had 1 more professional Muay Thai fight before I retired.  I came up a little short on my read one book a month goal.  I think I read about 6 books last year. I didn’t get to take up ceramic again like I wanted to and I definitely didn’t manage to save $ and travel to 3 new places. I also didn’t hit my physical goals of a new clean and jerk PR or a new 1 mile sprint time or breaking 300 on my fight gone bad score. But when I look back on 2011 I don’t see all the ways I failed I only see all the accomplishments I made and the new ways I have grown.

My 2011 goal list was ambitious to say the least. My new business took up the majority of my time and energy. I was surprised I kept up with my relationship, my social life, my continuing education and even managed to be a professional athlete. It was a crazy year and the single thing that I realized is I don’t want my life to be that crazy anymore.

I still love Muay Thai and I still love lifting and I still love adrenalin pumping workouts and putting in hard work into my gym and other projects.  But I don’t want to spend 15-20 hours working out a week anymore and I certainly don’t care what my fight gone bad score is.  I will always workout, but with more of an emphasis on health and longevity rather than proving how insanely bad-ass I am. In short - I’ve grown up, and more importantly I’m saving my adrenal glands. I’m okay with leaving the intense workloads to the younger athletes and letting them carry the “bad-ass” torch. Hopefully I can help them learn though my mistakes and maybe later when they are turning 34 they will be able to continue their careers as professional athletes more financially stable and with more fuel in the tank should they desire to do so. Today I am content to simply focus on running my business, helping people, being healthy and having new adventures. 

My goal list this year may appear less ambitious than last’s, but many of the goals will take effort and disciple for me to make happen. Besides I like my list and when I think about my goals, I smile at the potential outcomes… and that’s really what it’s all about!

So without further ado, here are my 2012 goals:

• Take a 15 minute walk outside in the sun each day without my cell phone or iPod
• Read one book a month
• Get two new fitness certifications (one will be the RKC in February) 
• Save $ and travel to at least three new places
• Keep BF below 10% (I run lean so this is not as crazy as it sounds) last I got measured with the BF Truck I was 9.6% and this was post Muay Thai fight, after 3 weeks of indulgence and less than optimal food choices… hey I’m only human.
  
• Keep a modest workout routine: At least 2 strength sessions, 1 sprint or met-con session and 1 Muay Thai session a week
• Increase Function 5 Fitness’ class membership by 30%
• Take up ceramics again I’ve been doing this on and off since I was a kid and I love it!
• Spent at least 1 hour a week on creative writing.  A little known fact about me is that I have been a writer since high school. Besides Muay Thai it’s my biggest passion. I plan to write a book in the future but for 2012 my goal is to start a writing routine again.  That’s how these things work.  Take small steps and those steps lead to bigger goals!
• Write 1 blog and 1 fitness & health article a month – this type of writing is easier for me, I think of it as exercise for the harder creative stuff. Keeps my gears oiled.
• Hold monthly staff meetings to educate staff and cultivate excellent trainers
• Have one date night per week with bf… where I actually get dressed up fancy and do my make up lol
• Go on at least 1 new or different outing/activity per month
• Write my 98 year old grandmother once a month because she prefers letters to phone calls.
• Get 8 hours of sleep most nights. I’ve been good about this lately, but I always want to remind myself of this.  It’s sooooo important!

I encourage you all to make your 2012 goals list. Dream big, take steps to get there everyday and enjoy the ride  :)

15 December 2011 ·

• Tags
• goals

Post Fight Thoughts & New Beginnings

The week after a fight is always interesting. A bit sore and bruised on the outside and a sort of calmness inside that can only come from accomplishing something difficult that you worked hard for.

If you missed the action you can read the recap here.

Or you can catch the Replay of the Event on video here.

Elaina as I expected was a tough girl, but I trained hard and under the good direction of Kru Mark Komuro and Joe Schilling at The Yard and I was prepared for a battle. A big thank you to my trainers for believing in me and helping me believe in myself. You guys rock!

I also owe a big thanks to Revgear and Esaan  - A Taste of Thai for their support for this fight.  Thanks for supporting Muay Thai! :)

Thank you to all my friends, the F5 family, fans and of course my awesome boyfriend Dustin. He is my rock, I couldn’t do this without him.

I am home from Vegas now and happy to be back teaching and working at my gym. I am always amazed after my fights when I take a week off training and realize how much free time I have. I used to be so excited about training that you’d see me back in the gym the Wednesday after a Saturday fight - all ramped up and ready to take on the world.

During this training camp I had several revelations. First I realized that owning my own gym and training for a fight was more challenging than I expected. I opened Function 5 Fitness in Feb 2012 - I had an easier time preparing for fights when I was working independently as a personal trainer and renting space inside of a bigger gym for my small group women’s classes… and it was easier still when I just bar-tended 4 nights a week like I did when I first started fighting.

But it wasn’t just the time and responsibility that made this fight camp challenging it was something bigger. I’d fought through all sorts of personal and professional turmoil before.  I took fights when I had no gym and even no coach.  I’ve fought through broken hearts and moving houses and not once did I loose focus.

However, this time I felt myself resenting my training schedule, staying late at work at my gym and showing up to training late. I was tired all the time and I looked shitty in sparring and even shitter (is that a word?) was my cardio. I know what it takes to be a professional so I made sure I did enough, but I didn’t want to do anymore than “just enough” - and I felt like I was trudging though mud to get there.  This was so far from my A type personality I know I have that I had to examine where the behavior was coming from. “But I love Muay Thai!” I thought to myself… and it’s true.  I do - with all my heart. But I did not have the same drive and hunger training to fight as before.

I’d catch myself staring at some random girl at Starbucks, thinking “She doesn’t have to train 3 hours a day and go fight some beast in the ring next month - lucky girl.” I normally even like the sacrifice, giving things up: social life, sugar, alcohol, and time all because I wanted to excel so badly. But I found myself resenting fighting for taking away time from other things that are important to me: friends, family, work, hobbies. I love Muay Thai too much to ever want to resent it, so I had to consider what I think my mind had already decided for me: I wanted to retire.

When I finally said it out-loud to my boyfriend, friends and coaches I felt instantly better, like a weight had been lifted.  I started to think about all the new challenges I wanted to do in 2012 and all the work I wanted to put into my gym. I stayed as focused as I could for this training camp and relied on my experience to pull me through, but if I am honest with myself, my heart was elsewhere.

I started getting sick the last couple weeks of the training camp and had to take more time off training than I wanted too. I used that time to really get my mental game tight. I read Sam Sheridan’s book The Fighter’s Mind.  It was awesome. I highly recommend it.  I also did some EFT sessions with Jon Boyd Barrett which is a great way to get over mental road blocks. Honestly I was kind of a mess for a few weeks, but I pulled through in the last couple of days when I spent some time alone and realized some important things, mainly about why I fight.

I remembered that I fight because it’s hard.  I fight because it’s not easy for me.  I was not a likely candidate to be a pro fighter. In high school I was voted “most likely to be a professional club kid” - I’m not joking. But my life changed when I found Muay Thai. It grounded me and pushed me. It gave me self confidence and discipline. Muay Thai helped me grow into a real adult, but most of all it gave me a purpose and with that focus my life changed.

By choosing to accept that this training camp was hard for me, mentally more than physically - (but I felt physically affected). I was not fighting myself anymore.   I accepted all the fears and doubts and negativity that kept coming up and just remembered that I love Muay Thai and that love gives me an abundance of strength…all the strength I need to carry me to victory.

Once I got into the ring I felt at home. I knew I had struggled more than usual to get there, but every fight camp is different and as my good friend Robb Wolf assured me, sometimes the shittiest training camps have the best outcomes. Maybe it is the adversity that makes the victory come easier. 

I love fighting, I always will and I will always have Muay Thai in my heart.  I will teach and train and push the sport forward to the best of my ability, but I knew that the decision I made to retire was the right one and it was time to step down and put my focus on my new passions: teaching, educating people on health and nutrition, running my gym, and training the new crop of young fighters.

I was very happy to go out with a win. I am satisfied with all my accomplishments. Sure I could have fought more often, gone after bigger fights, traveled the world fighting -but I chose to follow my heart and build my dream gym. I don’t regret a thing.

Even though you won’t see me in the ring again. I will still be around. I want to help Muay Thai grow in popularity and of course I want to help people be healthy and fit and live lives filled with passion and purpose.

Thank you all for your support!

21 November 2011 ·

• Tags
• muay thai

Is rice healthy? What’s the deal with white vs brown?

I get asked about rice a lot.

Clients tell me they make good choices and choose brown rice with meals.  I shake my head and tell them that actually white is better than brown… then they get REALLY confused - and I don’t blame them.  I was confused once too - and to make things more confusing I then say: I don’t recommend white rice to most people even if it is “healthier” than brown. Let’s clear this up…

Here are my 10 bullet points on the deal with rice. I’ll try to sum this us as best I can without getting to “science-y”:

1) we as human beings have not evolved to tolerate grain and legumes. in our evolutionary history they are a relatively new addition to the diet and since the agricultural revolution when grain became a staple of our diet we have seen a decline in health. If you want to argue this fine - I’ll help people who really want help instead - but watch this first if you need convincing.

2) all grains (and legumes) have inflammatory and gut irritating properties - aka humans do not tolerate them well. We can soak them, cook them, even ferment grains, but those negative properties still remain and if eaten in excess or even small amounts can cause varying degrees of health problems depending on how grain intolerant the individual is (we are all intolerant to some degree).

3) Some grains are worse than others: Wheat (gluten) is the very worst for our bodies. Everyone should avoid wheat/gluten containing products. For a list of gluten containing properties go here. Wheat and gluten containing grains serve no health benefit and cause a bunch of health problems. Going down the spectrum is oat, corn and rice is probably the least problematic of the grains, but it is still a grain.

4) the reason why white rice is not as problematic as brown is that white rice is stripped of all it’s nutrients and fiber in the husk therefor leaving it as just a plain and simple starch.  Is it the best starch? No, cause it has no nutrition and it will if eaten cause insulin spikes and rise blood sugar.

5) the reason I recommend white rice to athletes is because after INTENSE exercise glucose stores need to be repleted. In the Post-Workout meal a starch does a good job of this.  But a better starch would be a sweet potato or squash cause it is way more nutritious than white rice.

6) not everyone should eat white rice.  people that are trying to lose weight or those who are inactive or only moderately active have no business mainlining such an insulin driving food if they care about their health.

7) Will it kill you to have white rice once in a while?  No.  Is it the worst thing?  No. There are worse sources of carbs: sugar and bread are definitely worse - but eating rice as a staple part of a diet is not good for optimal health.

8) Why are high carb foods bad for me?  Well first off I’m not a carb hater.  As an athlete I need some good carbs in my diet, but I get my carbs mostly from veggies and sweet potatoes only occasionally treating myself to white rice and corn tortillas. But let’s be honest most of America is NOT that active we sit all day and are lucky to get in 3 workouts a week… that is NOT active.  So unless you are a very physical person, chances are your carb requirements are low.

9) To understand why high carb foods can make you fat read this: http://www.diabeteshealth.com/read/2007/04/24/5143/why-eating-too-many-carbs-makes-you-fat/

10) Above all I’d like to re-stress that avoiding wheat/gluten is the VERY best thing you can do for you health. Of course there is room for improvement after being gluten free, but if you choose to do just ONE thing, that is the best choice - and yes rice, white or brown is gluten free.

11 November 2011 ·

• Tags
• paleo diet