What are macros?

Should I be tracking my macros?

What are the advantages of tracking my macros?

Is it hard to do?

• Body:
  • Topic #1 - Brief introduction: Family, friends, passions other than CrossFit.
  • Topic #2 - How did you get started with CrossFit? What is your favorite part about CrossFit? How long do you foresee yourself continuing CrossFit?
  • Topic #4 - Anyone that trains as long and as hard as you has probably had to deal with injuries. How did you overcome those obstacles, and what advice would you give to someone who in currently dealing with one?
  • Topic #3 - From an athlete's perspective, what does a typical day look like for you? Training? Programming? Nutrition? Mobility? Sleep? Start with when you wake up ;)
  • Topic #4 - Outside CrossFit, what do you like to do for fun?
  • Topic #5 - If there was one piece of advice you could give a new CrossFitter, what would it be?
  • Topic #6 - What is your favorite book, and what is one book you would recommend that every athlete should read? They can be the same book.
  • Topic #7 - Rapid fire round: silly, quirky off the cuff but appropriate questions.
  • Topic #8 - Shout outs? Sponsors?

• Body:
• • Topic #1: Matthew 22:36-40 “Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and will all your mind.”  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
  • • CrossFit = Community
    • Coaches want to help people.
    • The best way to help people is to love them.
  • Topic #2: Unlike any sport I’ve played, CrossFit focuses on growth of individuals as members of a community.  
  • • Definition of CrossFit =
    • “Relative intensity” means it is difficult for everyone, equally.  A bench-warmer on the varsity football team, is still on the team, but they don’t get any playing time.  
    • Muscle-up = jumping pull-up
  • Topic #3: Christians and CrossFitters are committed to a higher calling/goal.  The Bible says Christians are too be a living testimony for God on earth.  To be His hands and feet.  True CrossFitters are merely interested in their own fitness, rather, they are committed to the fitness of others around them.
  • Topic #4: Which famous CrossFitters are Christians?
  • • Jacob Heppner, Rich Froning, Dan Bailey, Chris Spealer, Lindsey Smith, Andrea Ager, and the list goes on and on.
  • Topic #5: What is Share the Burden CrossFit’s Mission statement, and what do we represent?

• Intro:
• • Justin
  • • “Welcome to The Fitness Burden, I’m Justin Smiley with my Co-Host,”
  • Brian
  • • “Brian Turek”
  • Justin
  • • “On today’s episode we are going to”

• Body: The 4 Degrees of action: “The 10x Rule” by Grant Cardone
• • Massive Thought or goals require massive action.  Most people fail with both.  Most people underestimate the amount of action it takes to achieve success and therefore rarely achieve it.
  • Degree #1: Do nothing people: give up on their dreams, accep any result good or bad.  Spend energy justifying why they aren’t doing anything. They have to spend a ton of time and creativity coming up with excuses.
  • Degree #2: Retreat people: react instead of act.  Action in reverse just to avoid something negative.  Justify their response their responses.  Keeps them ‘safe’.  Don't be too ambitious, too focused, etc.  Example: most marriages end in divorce.  Retreat is an action.
  • Degree #3: Normal action: middle class, mediocrity.  It’s incredibly dangerous because most people consider it acceptable.  Average heath, average career, average finances etc.  The worst of the 4.
  • Degree #4: children are born with the natural instinct to take massive action.  It is society that tells them to be average and retreat.  Massive action will actually produce new problems.  Only unsuccessful people view massive action as unusual.

• Conclusion:

• - Justin
• • “If you liked what you heard, please don’t forget to go over to iTunes or Stitcher and give us a 5-star rating and share us on your social media of choice.”
• - Brian
• • “And leave us some feedback and comments about what you liked and what you would like us to discuss on future episodes.”

“When your diet isn’t cutting it - literally.” (Part 3)

Parts 1 and 2 of this podcast have addressed food logs, macronutrient timing, carb cycling, and intermittent fasting.  If you have not yet listened to those, please press pause on this episode and go back to those episodes first, as part 3 only builds on the first 2.   Assuming that you get optimal sleep, eat high quality fat, protein, and carbohydrates at the appropriate times during the day, and that you have normal thyroid and adrenal function, carb-cycling and intermittent fasting may still not be enough.  In 2012, the federal government of the United States spent roughly $11 billion to subsidize and insure commodity crops like wheat, corn, and soybeans.  In contrast, during that same year the federal government spent $1.6 to subsidize and insure specialty crops like fruits and vegetables.  So, it shouldn’t surprise anyone, that according to macronutrient breakdown on myplate.gov ’s website, Americans should follow a diet that gets roughly 40% of its caloric intake from starchy carbohydrates.  In a volatile commodities market, it makes economic sense to encourage farmers to produce goods that don’t spoil quickly and that don’t require refrigeration.  Additionally, most of these crops can be used for more than just food.  For example, corn and its derivatives can be found in everything from cereal to gasoline to batteries to baby diapers.  Conversely, there are very few uses for grassed beef, other than feeding mammals that don’t eat grass.  As a result, the S.A.D diet is one with a surplus of pre-processed, pre-packaged carbohydrates.  We’ve been duped by the ad agencies and marketing departments of multinational corporations like KraftHeinz and General Mills.  These food companies along with governmental organizations like the FDA have led us to believe that fat is the enemy.  They suggest that if we eat a low-fat diet, that all of our health issues will disappear, but apparently they don’t reference the data.  By systematically eliminating all fat from our diet, we open the door for a diet that is high in refined carbohydrates.  Not only are these carbohydrates low in calories (1g carb = 4 calories & 1g fat = 9 calories), but they get digested and broken down into glucose which the body uses for energy or stores for a later use as fat.  To makes things worse, Americans are becoming more sedentary than ever; which means, very few of those carbohydrates are getting used as metabolic fuel and most of them are getting stored as fat.  This is why a low-fat diet does not work.  

So what is the correct alternative?  A ketogenic diet.  Ketones are water-soluable fat molecules that are produced in the liver in an absence of carbohydrates.  This alternative source of fuel can pass the blood-brain barrier, and they can be used by the body and brain as an alternative, and arguably superior, form of energy.  Prior to the agricultural and industrial revolutions, humans relied heavily on ketosis.  In fact, without it, our species would be extinct.  Before our ancestors had McDonald’s, Travel Marts, and Walmarts, we had to hunt, gather, or farm our food.  When times were tough, we would often go for days between meals.  We were forced by nature, to rely on a very basic process.  We would use stored fat as fuel.  Now, you tell me.  Does this sound like something you would like to do?  Use your stored bodyfat deposits as fuel?  Translated, this means that you can actually use that spare tire around your midsection to get rid of the spare tire around your midsection.  If the human body, can naturally enter a fat-burning state in an absence of carbohydrates, it would make sense that a society that eats too many carbohydrates would have an obesity problem.  Because Americans eat too many carbohydrates, their bodies are never forced to use the fat they store up as fuel, and their fat stores continue to increase, just like their waste lines.  But surely, a government that wants to provide affordable healthcare to all of its citizens would care about the health of its citizens, right?  Remember those subsides I mentioned earlier, and do you remember the macronutrient breakdown on myplate.gov? 

What does a Ketogenic diet look like?  Definitions vary, and unfortunately, because of the bodybuilding community, many people think a ketogenic diet is a diet void of carbohydrates and fat, but that is not the case.  In order for the human body to effectively use ketones for fuel, it must also have a sustainable source of fat.  A ketogenic diet is high in Coconut and or MTC oil, healthy grassfed meats, grassfed butter, nuts, and seeds.  Yes, the body can enter a state of ketosis without a regular source of healthy fat, but it isn’t sustainable for longer periods of time, and it definitely is not good for people who are looking to improve their fitness performance.  A ketogenic diet is the exact opposite of the S.A.D or Standard American Diet, and that should be enough reason to give this new lifestyle a try.  60% of Americans are overweight and or obese, and the problem is now affecting our children.  So, one could argue that a drastic nutritional shift from the preprocessed, prepackaged, carbohydrate eating habits of most Americans, would be a smart move.

• Look back at the 2015 Training season.
  • Determine your strengths and weaknesses
  • Take a look at the 5 Open workouts
    • Breakdown each workout and evaluate where you need to improve
• As for an unbiased opinion.
  • Have someone else look at your strengths and weaknesses
• Re-evaluate why you train.
  • Do you really want to get better at double-unders or do you want to look/feel better?
• Create a plan that will help you improve those weaknesses and maintain your strengths
• Stick to the plan regardless of what other people are doing.

• Intro:
• Justin
• “Welcome to The Fitness Burden, I’m Justin Smiley with my Co-Host,”
• Brian
• “Brian Turek”
• Justin
• “On today’s episode we are going to address a common question in our box, “When should I go heavier, and how do I know when to push the clock?”

• Body:
• Topic #1  The CrossFit training spectrum: Technique, Strength, Speed
• Scaled weights vs Rx Weights - relative strength
• Topic #2  What will using heavier weights do for my performance?
• Rx weights will feel lighter and therefore easier.
• Topic #3  What will going faster do for my performance?
• Push the anaerobic threshold (Oxidative vs glycolytic)
• Topic #4  Which is best to help me achieve my goals?
• Look, feel, or perform.
• Determine the proper blend.  Training frequency.
• Topic #5  When should I go heavier, and when should I go faster in my training cycles?

• - Justin
• “If you liked what you heard, please don’t forget to go over to iTunes or Stitcher and give us a 5-star rating and share us on your social media of choice.”
• - Brian
• “And leave us some feedback and comments about what you liked and what you would like us to discuss on future episodes.”

• What is the open?
• What are the dates?
• Why should you sign up for the open?
  • Community
  • Competition
  • Inspiration / Motivation
  • Test / Re-test
• What if I can't do all of the movements?
  • Movements to expect
  • Workout style
• What are our predictions?.

• Body:
• Topic #1: What is the difference between a plateau and a valley-canyon
• Plateau - a regular/natural byproduct of training that usually occurs after a period of consistent progression.  A true performance plateau occurs when an athlete has already optimized their sleep, training, and nutrition.
• Questions to ask yourself to determine whether or not you have hit a ‘true’ performance plateau.
• If I don’t sleep, eat, or train optimally, what can I do to improve those three factors.
• Optimal fat, protein, carbohydrates, sleep, hydration etc.
• Valley-Canyon - an irregular/unnatural product of poor sleep, nutrition, or training habits that usually occurs when an athlete has not optimized the aforementioned criteria.
• Examples from Justin & Brian where we have experienced both plateaus and valleys.
• Topic #2: “If you always do what you’ve always done, you will always get what you’ve always got.” - Mark Twain.
• Even though CrossFit is defined as Constantly Varied, Functional Movement, Performed at a relative high intensity, that doesn’t mean you are protected from encountering plateaus.
• What happens when you encounter a plateau?
• Self-analysis.  What is the plateau? (Example: Snatch)  Why can’t I snatch more weight?  Which part of the snatch do you struggle with most?  Pulling down and under the bar? Trusting you legs, shoulders, wrists?
• Example: Brian - squat clean??? (Lots of Front Squats because getting under the bar wasn’t the problem, it was standing up with the weight.
• Deadlift, strong legs, but lower back rounds.
• Topic #3: How long have you been training?  The longer you train, the more likely you are to hit a plateau and the more difficult it will be to break through it.
• Many CrossFitters encounter plateaus that involve their weaknesses.  
• Example: Muscle-up - you may have the pulling strength to get your chest to the rings, but you may not have the dip strength to get out of your catch or wrist strength to maintain a false grip- transition.
• Example: HS Pushups, you may have the overhead strength, but you lack the overhead mobility or stability to balance properly.
• Topic #4: Pushing to failure, maxing regularly to determine effective percentages, and proper recovery.  
• The human body adapts quickly and likes to operate at the minimum effective dose.
• Minimum effective dose.  (Example: If 1 - 50mg ibuprofen could get rid of a headache, then why take more than 1. )  If doing a 5x5 back squat hurts at 70%, then why would we make it hurt a little bit more and up the weight an additional #10.  
• The harder we push, the more likely we are to get sore and injured.  Increasing the weight used or reps performed, or decreasing the time it takes to complete a workout are good things, but we must also increase our warm-up time, cool-down time, and spend more time on mobility.

• Intro:
• Justin
• “Welcome to The Fitness Burden, I’m Justin Smiley with my Co-Host,”
• Brian
• “Brian Turek”
• Justin
• “On today’s episode we are going to talk about self-empowerment”
• Body:
• Topic #1  What we can’t control.
• The weather, traffic, other people and their actions or responses.
• Modern medicine preaches the opposite
• Genetic, environmental, hereditary, byproduct of circumstances.
• Topic #2  What can we control?
• For the most part, we control our sleep, food and drink consumption, physical activity, preventative maintenance, the people we surround ourselves with, and what we allow into our heads.
• As humans, I believe it is our God-given right to control our physical bodies.  
• “Invictus” I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.”
• Much of life is out of our control
• Focus on what we can control: attitude, our response.
• Viktor Frankl - Man’s Search for Ultimate Meaning: Nazi Holocaust survivor
• Forced abortion of his first child, Mother, Father, Wife, and Brother are all murdered in Auschwitz extermination camp.  
• Attributes his survival to his focus on his own actions and responses than that of his captors. (Controlling what he can control)
• “Meditations” Marcus Aurelius: “. . . he who lives longest and he who will die soonest lose just the same.  For the present is the only thing of which a man can be deprived, if it is true that this is the only thing which he has, and that a man cannot lose something he does not already possess.”
• Topic #3  Small Victories lead to big victories, but you have to set yourself up for success.  Control what is within your control, and don’t stress on the rest.
• Put yourself in situations and circumstances that will be most conducive to success.
• I know that I get a much better workout and I will push myself harder when I workout with other people.  This is one readon why CrossFit works so well.
• “Do not waste the remainder of your life in thoughts about others, for you lose the opportunity of doing something else when you have such thoughts. - Aurelius
• “A man then must stand erect, not be kept erect by others. - Aurelius
• Conclusion:
• - Justin
• “If you liked what you heard, please don’t forget to go over to iTunes or Stitcher and give us a 5-star rating and share us on your social media of choice.”
• - Brian
• “And leave us some feedback and comments about what you liked and what you would like us to discuss on future episodes.”

In this episode, we interview one of our athletes, Ben Good.  He came to us with questions about programming and diet, and we thought that this would be a perfect opportunity to try and reach others who might have similar questions.  We talk about many different things, but the main areas of focus are:

• How to pair a weight-training program with CrossFit
• Carb Cycling & low carb dieting
• Quality fat consumption
• Ketosis
• And, why CrossFit works

Enjoy!

This audio is taken from a lecture given by

T.J. WILLIAMS, DC, PHD

He discusses gut health, dairy, and the impact nutrition has on performance.

Dr. Williams earned his PhD from the University of Arkansas and his Doctor of Chiropractic from Logan College of Chiropractic. The dual doctoral degrees provide him the unique insight of knowing the natural treatments to achieve wellness, and understanding the importance of having scientific research to back up his recommendations and suggestions. Dr. TJ is also a nationally known lecturer on topics such as Pulsed Electro-Magnetic Field therapy and natural treatments for cardiovascular disease.

The audio quality is poor, but Dr TJ has a lot of interesting information to share.

• Topic #1  Even the best of programs that are not followed, will not work.
• There are personal trainers, fitness experts, and strength coaches who have made entire careers, lucrative careers designing workout programs.  If you don’t believe us, just google the “300 Workout” or do a search for Tom Hardy’s workout to get in shape for his role as Bane is the most recent Batman movie.  Hollywood actors and fitness enthusiasts will pay a pretty penny for the “perfect” workout regimen. 
• But programs only work if they are followed.
• Placebo affect.  It doesn’t matter so much what the program is, so long as you follow the program.
• Topic #2  But, I thought you said CrossFit was supposed to be “Constantly Varied”
• Yes, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t have a plan of attack.  Benjamin Franklin, “Those who fail to plan, plan to fail.”
• Rest & Recovery
• Double-dipping on movements and body parts. (CrossFitters love to do more than necessary) “Well Rich Froning trains 6 times a day.”
• Topic #3  What does our cycling look like?
• Importance of accommodating multiple session / week athletes.
• 5, 4, 3 Rule - Why something similar is essential to every workout program
• 8 week cycles - conjugate max approach
• Topic #4  Auxiliary Work: What is the goal or objective?
• Weaknesses not strengths
• Supplementary & complimentary movements: i.e. a push and a pull.
• Sleep, eat, train in that order. (Prioritize: getting 1 extra workout will not balance out your lack of mobility, poor sleep, and crappy eating habits.
• Topic #5  Explanation of a program
• Ask your coaches and trainers about the programming.  Find out what you can be doing as an athlete to improve.  
• It is all relative.  Driving 80mph is a zig-zag line is far more dangerous and ends up taking just as long or longer than driving 60mph and going in a straight line.

“When your diet isn’t cutting it - literally.” (Part 2)

If you listened to part 1 of this podcast, you learned that carb cycling can be a nutritional option for someone who isn’t getting the physical results they want.  However, individuals are different.  As mentioned before, adrenal function, hormone production, sleep, stress, and hydration are just a few of the factors that can drastically affect the nutritional needs of an athlete, and if someone is not keeping those variables constant, it becomes very difficult to determine exactly how or what to tweak.  Assuming that you have normal adrenal and thyroid function (which is only accurately determined with detailed blood-panels), and that your sleep and fitness are at a optimal levels, a 3 day carb cycle that rotates between 100, 75, and 50% of your average daily carbohydrate consumption may not be adequate.  There are several additional options.  You could consider trying a 3 day carb cycle that never gets above 75% of your average daily carb consumption by rotating between 75, 50, and 25% of that average.  Some individuals just look, feel, and perform better when consuming more fat and fewer carbs.  However, if after 2, 3, or even 4 months of accurate and deliberate macronutrient tracking you still aren’t noticing the results or changes you want, you could consider intermittent fasting.  In summary, intermittent fasting is a scheduled fast at specific intervals throughout the week, usually performed first thing in the morning.  An example fasting schedule would sound like something like this: on Monday morning consume a fat, protein, and carbohydrate for breakfast.  On Tuesday morning eat a fat and protein, and on Wednesday morning, skip your morning meal but drink a hot coffee, tea, or other beverage of choice with 1 tbsp of grassfed Kerrygold butter or 1 tbsp of coconut oil blended in.  By giving your body a healthy dose of fat first thing in the morning, you are encouraging your body to use fat for fuel.  The first several times you fast, go at least 2 hours without eating anything else.  After several successful attempts, you can stretch that time to 3 hours.  Additionally, on fasting days, your first whole-food meal should be completely void of starchy carbohydrates.  Eggs, meats, and green veggies are all great options.  The human body is incredibly smart, and it will always burn carbohydrates for fuel first, if they are present (i.e. if you want your body to use fat for fuel you should not eat a bunch of carbohydrates with your fats.)  To some, this information may sound similar to a ketogenic diet, which is simply a diet that focuses primarily on healthy fats for fuel as opposed to carbohydrates.  However, simply eating more fat and fewer carbs does not mean you are ketonic.  To properly determine if you are in a state of consistent ketosis, you would need to have regular blood work done or use keto-sticks that can be purchased at your local drug store.  These sticks measure the level of ketones present in the urine.  Depending on how you feel, intermittent fasting can be performed multiple times per week, and it too can be tweaked.  For example, I routinely fast in the morning, but I add a collagen protein powder to my coffee in addition to the grassfed butter.  Since I regularly exercise multiple times per day, I want to be sure that my body has the sustenance it needs to properly recover and repair the muscle tissue that I break down.  This collagen protein is void of all additives, chemicals, carbs, and sugars, and the only thing it contains is collagen.  

Even though intermittent fasting can be another tool in your arsenal, macronutrient timing in general is incredibly important.  One of the most common mistakes people make comes in the evening.  Most people in America work a 9 to 5 job for a living or more accurately, a 8 to 6 job, and because of their work and workout schedule their biggest meal of the day is often consumed at dinner.  Even though healthy fats, proteins, and carbohydrates are all essential in their relative capacities to your overall health and performance, starchy carbohydrates should be avoided before bed.  Obviously, every rule has its exceptions, and depending on your goals these rules can vary drastically, but generally speaking, people who are trying to lose weight, trim, tone, and firm up areas of their body should avoid consuming carbohydrates in the evening.  If you follow this simple guideline, much fewer of the carbs you eat will convert into glucose, a simple sugar the body either uses for fuel or conserves for later use, and be stored as fat.  In most cases, a dinner comprised of healthy fat, green vegetables, and quality proteins should be more than enough to satiate even the most aggressive food cravings.

“When your diet isn’t cutting it - literally.”

Even though we don’t like to use the word diet, many people frequently ask questions regarding their food consumption when they plateau or reach a point of stagnation along their weightloss journey.  A paleo-esque diet that focuses on healthy fats, quality proteins, and low-glycemic - gluten free carbohydrates is often the best route for anyone trying to look, feel, or perform better; however, it definitely does not mean that a one-size-fits-all approach will work for everyone.  For some, specific macro and micro nutrients must be tracked and tallied on a daily basis to elicit a desired effect with body composition.  The S.A.D (Standard American Diet) approach to weight and body fat loss would preach that fewer calories eaten and more calories burned equates to weight loss, but this is not always the case.  In fact, the human body can respond adversely to a calorically restricted diet by conserving the very thing most people want to get rid of, fat.  Carb cycling, intermittent fasting, and cold therapy are other options to consider, but realistically, the easiest way to determine your next step should be to keep a food journal.  This journal should include, sleep, hydration, macronutrient consumption and timing (i.e. the protein, carbs, and fat you eat), along with physical and mental performance throughout the day. Without having baseline data, tweaking macro and micronutrient numbers is like trying to shoot a moving target with a gun while blindfolded.  Gary Taubes, author of Good Calories, Bad Calories argues that trying to burn more calories than what we consume is a rudimentary measuring stick for creating a change in body composition.  With a Ph.D in thermodynamics, he concludes that even the best calorie counters can’t determine the exact calories consumed or burned, and if someone is off by even 100 calories a day, that person could add or lose 2 pounds of fat a year or twenty pounds of fat in 10 years.  Before anyone makes a calculated change to an athlete’s diet, they must first gather baseline data of an athlete’s consumption, and then make tweaks to the diet to draw out a specific reaction.  Adrenal function, hormone production, sleep, stress, and hydration are just a few of the factors that can drastically affect the nutritional needs of an athlete.  Not everyone can wear size 10 shoes or drive a car with the same seat adjustment, and the same applies to nutrition.  The most comforting piece of advice that can be offered to someone who seemingly has little to no control over the way they look, feel, or perform, is that this is a science.  Your body composition issues can be resolved, but we need to know what to change before we starting making changes.  Start by tracking each of the 3 main macronutrients (fat, protein, and carbohydrates) for at least a week.  Do not, under any circumstance change your normal eating patterns to look good on paper.  Record in ounces, the non-caffienated fluid you drink, and also make note of your mental and physical performance both in the morning and at night.  For starters, look for patterns in the numbers, big highs or deep lows, and start drawing connections between the amount of food you consume and your mental and physical performance.  If you notice that your macronutrient consumption is fairly level throughout the week, then you could consider carbohydrate cycling.  The main premise behind carb cycling is to slowly ween your body off its dependancy on sugar for fuel.  You might be surprised by the number of carbs you eat in a day.  The easiest form of carb cycling is to simply tally your daily carbohydrate consumption for 1 week, add all 7 days together, then divide that number by 7.  On Monday, allow yourself to eat that number of carbohydrates, but on Tuesday eat roughly 75% of that average, and on Wednesday eat 50% of that original number.  On Thursday bump that number back up to the original 100% average.  While doing this you should replace your missing carbohydrates with healthy fats (grassfed butter, coconut oil, avocados, and grassfed meats.)   Test this for a period of 1 month, reassess your body composition, and then tweak your consumption again if necessary, usually favoring an increase in fat and decrease in carbohydrates. 

• Topic #1: Why do some women who do CrossFit look muscular and feminine while others end up looking muscular and masculine?
• Topic #2: What should I eat to ensure my body looks the way I want it to?  
• Should I eat protein bars and drink protein shakes?
• How much protein should I eat in a day?
• Topic #3: What is my body type, and what role do genetics play?
• How much say do I really have in the way my body looks?
• Ectomorph, Endomorph, Mesomorph
• Hormones: estrogen vs. testosterone
• Topic #4: Should I spend more time lifting or doing cardio?
• What are the pro’s and con’s of each?
• What is the ideal number of reps and sets to achieve optimal results?
• “The best program you don’t follow is a bad program.”
• Topic #5: What happens if I notice my body heading down a path that I don’t like?
• What is more difficult, losing weight or adding muscle?
• Topic #6: Are there any negative side effects for women will ultra low body fat?
• Are there any trade-offs to having really low body fat? What about for guys?

Topic #1: Have a Realistically, Clear Vision
Where do you want to go, backwards plan from there.
Realistic time frame relative to your past and present
Topic #2: Establish and Maintain Constant Variables
It is hard to tell what works and when it works will ever-changing variables.
Topic #3: Medication
Blood pressure, thyroid, and diabetes prevent weight loss.  
Catch 22
Topic #4: Mobility, recovery, injury prevention
It is much more difficult to exercise with nagging injuries.

In this episode we address the concept of training like a sponsored athlete.  Many people think it would be awesome to get paid to workout, or at the very least, get free apparel, supplements, and gear. Frank discusses his aspirations to live like a professional athlete for 4 months, and see if he likes it.

How to get that muscle!

Why proper scaling is essential to the longevity of CrossFit and CrossFit athletes.

• Hacking Fat Loss
  • What are our stresses?
    • Fight or flight
    • Down regulation of drenal function
    • Cortisol
  • Sleep
    • Hormone production/regulation
    • Waking up pre-diabetic
    • Quality vs quantity
  • Nutrition
    • Eat more fat to burn fat
    • Starvation & malnutrition - conservation mode
  • Exercise:
    • What is metabolism?
    • LSD vs. Interval training
    • Total calories vs % of fat
    • Why LSD on an empty stomach.

1. What is a supplemejt and when should you use one?
2. Which supplements should you take?
3. How you will know if your supplements are working?
4. Are you getting the most bang for your buck?

Hello,

I just wanted to share with everyone a new pet project of mine.  If you like it, let me know.  If you don't like it, let me know.  If you would like to hear more, your thoughts will be good encouragement for the release of the rest.  Thanks

• Intro:
• Justin
• “Welcome to The Fitness Burden, I’m Justin Smiley with my Co-Host,”
• Brian
• “Brian Turek”
• Justin
• “On today’s episode we are going to”

• Body:
• Topic #1: What is the CrossFit lifestyle?
• Sleep
• Nutrition
• Training
• Topic #2: What is the difference between working out (training) and practice
• Heartrate, anaerobic threshold vs. technique vs. strength
• Topic #3: Everything is moderation, even CrossFit
• CrossFit Games vs. everyday programming
• Games athletes vs the average Joes
• Topic #4: Realistic expectations vs. big picture dreaming
• “Play the long game”
• How can you personally become better

• Conclusion:

• - Justin
• “If you liked what you heard, please don’t forget to go over to iTunes or Stitcher and give us a 5-star rating and share us on your social media of choice.”
• - Brian
• “And leave us some feedback and comments about what you liked and what you would like us to discuss on future episodes.”

• Intro:
• Justin
• “Welcome to The Fitness Burden, I’m Justin Smiley with my Co-Host,”
• Brian
• “Brian Turek”
• Justin
• “On today’s episode we are going to address the topic of recovery”

• Body:
• Topic #1  Why are proper warm-ups and cool-downs are so essential?
• Muscles are like motorcycle tires.
• Topic #2  What happens to our muscles when we workout?
• Breakdown muscle fibers but we must build them back up.
• Topic #3  Why should we look at food as fuel & medicine?
• 150 years ago people use to look at food as medicine and their medicine was their food.
• Racecars and jet planes don’t take 87 unleaded fuel for a reason, they are high performing machines.
• Topic #4  Why is mobility so important?
• Muscle contractions shorten our muscle fibers.
• Example - Look at your relaxed hand
• Topic #5  How do you know when enough is enough?  When do you pull back on the reins?
• High performance machines that warm-up properly, eat well, and mobilize never get in wrecks, right? 
• Have you seen a NASCAR or Forumla 1 wreck?????
• Topic #6  Sleep is numero uno!
• Why is sleep so important?

• Conclusion:

• - Justin
• “If you liked what you heard, please don’t forget to go over to iTunes or Stitcher and give us a 5-star rating and share us on your social media of choice.”
• - Brian
• “And leave us some feedback and comments about what you liked and what you would like us to discuss on future episodes.”

• Intro: (Special Guest - Steve Smiley)
• Justin
• “Welcome to The Fitness Burden, I’m Justin Smiley with my Co-Host,”
• Brian
• “Brian Turek”
• Justin
• “On today’s episode we are going to discuss effective goal setting”

• Body:
• Topic #1  Performance goals/action goals vs. outcome/results goals?
• Why are performance goals or action goals better?
• Examples of our (Brian & Justin’s action and outcome goals)
• Topic #2  Big goals vs little goals.  *** SMART ***
• What are the pro’s and con’s of big goals?
• What are the pro’s and con’s of little goals?
• Topic #3 Achieving or reaching your goals?
• Why do so many people fail?
• Tips and pointers to reach your goals?
• Measurable (yes or no) not sort-of or kind-of.  Track your results
• Start your day by reiterating your goals to yourself
• Set reasonable daily objectives
• Topic #4  Accountability 
• Pair up and surround yourself with like-minded people.
• The saying: “You are the average of the 5 people you hang out with most.”
• Who do you spend the most time with?
• Topic #5  Step 1 Have a plan of attack - write it out

• Conclusion:

• - Justin
• “If you liked what you heard, please don’t forget to go over to iTunes or Stitcher and give us a 5-star rating and share us on your social media of choice.”
• - Brian
• “And leave us some feedback and comments about what you liked and what you would like us to discuss on future episodes.”

• Intro:
• Justin
• “Welcome to The Fitness Burden, I’m Justin Smiley.
• • “On today’s episode we are going to look at reasons why women should CrossFit.  I have with me a special quest Zoe Cangas, fitness enthusiast, CrossFit Coach etc.”

• Body:
• Topic #1 Brief summary about Zoe Cangas
• Exercise journey, past, present, and future.  How does your current model differ from or resemble what you used to do?
• Topic #2  Why should women CrossFit?
• 2-3 reasons why you believe it is important for women to do more than just run on the treadmill or hop on a elliptical.
• Topic #3  What would you say to women who are afraid to get “bulky”?  
• I get this a lot.  “I don’t want to look like those crazy muscle-bound girls on t.v.”
• Topic #4  Why is exercise important leading up to, during, and post a pregnancy?
• Physical, mental, emotional health?
• How did your nutrition change or remain the same during pregnancy?
• Can women support a healthy baby, functioning on a paleo-esque diet?
• With your husband being a pediatrician, did he have any recommendations for you while you were pregnant?
• Topic #5  What advice would you offer to women out there who can’t seem to lose the ‘baby-weight’?  
• Nutrition, exercise, lifestyle habits etc.?

• Conclusion:

• - Justin
• “If you liked what you heard, please don’t forget to go over to iTunes or Stitcher and give us a 5-star rating and share us on your social media of choice.”
• “And leave us some feedback and comments about what you liked and what you would like us to discuss on future episodes.”

•  Intro:
• Justin
• “Welcome to The Fitness Burden, I’m Justin Smiley with my Co-Host,”
• Brian
• “Brian Turek”
• Justin
• “On today’s episode we are going to discuss our recommendations for how to best prepare for the 2015 CrossFit Open”

• Body:
• Topic #1 - What is the CrossFit Open?
• Why was it created?  What was is it designed to do?
• Why sign up for the CrossFit Open?
• How much does it cost? ($20) Register online - watch our screencast on how to sign up on our youtube channel.
• Topic #2 - Physical
• Movement competencies
• Previously tested movements, rep schemes, and benchmarks
• Times and numbers to hit to qualify for regionals
• Practice at least the first round and/or the first couple of minutes of each workout
• Topic #3 - Mental
• How do you deal with anxiety and nervousness?
• Visualization: which movements are easy, which are more difficult?
• Watch the open release and learn from the athletes you see perform the workout.
• Pacing: where will you break and why? Time domain? (Red line or chipper?)
• Topic #4 - Nutrition
• What should you eat the night before an open wod?
• What should you eat the day of?
• Topic #5 - Have Fun
• What’s the point if you aren’t having fun?  Stay and encourage the athletes that cheered you on.
• Topic #6 - Score Submission
• Make sure you log onto the website and submit your scores for verification ASAP.  If you wait until the last minutes, you coaches and or box owners will be completely swamped on Monday evening.

• Conclusion:

• - Justin
• “If you liked what you heard, please don’t forget to go over to iTunes or Stitcher and give us a 5-star rating and share us on your social media of choice.”
• - Brian
• “And leave us some feedback and comments about what you liked and what you would like us to discuss on future episodes.”

• Intro:
• Justin
• “Welcome to The Fitness Burden, I’m Justin Smiley with my Co-Host,”
• Brian
• “Brian Turek”
• Justin
• “On today’s episode we are going to address the question, (Why do you even CrossFit, Bro)”

• Body:  
• Topic #1  What is CrossFit? - Constantly varied, functional movement, performed @ a relative high intensity.  
• What does that mean? HIIT Training, Interval training, sports & athletics training
• Topic #2  How can CrossFit benefit you?
• Novice, Average, Expert
• Athlete, non -athlete, runner, biker, powerlifter, strongman, bodybuilder, treadmill/elliptical enthusiast 
• Topic #3  How can CrossFit enhance your lifestyle?
• 5k, Tough Mudder, sports, playing with your kids
• Topic #4  Community:
• Share the Burden, accountability, friendship, motivation, inspiration, dedication.
• Topic #5  How can CrossFit help you LGN?
• #1 Goal for most people is to look good naked, or at the very least feel better about the way they look naked.
• Why HIIT vs. Long, low-intensity cardio or only lifting
• Topic #6  Personal Testimonies from Brian and Justin

• Conclusion:

• - Justin
• “If you liked what you heard, please don’t forget to go over to iTunes or Stitcher and give us a 5-star rating and share us on your social media of choice.”
• - Brian
• “And leave us some feedback and comments about what you liked and what you would like us to discuss on future episodes.”

In this episode we take a closer look at carbohydrates, which ones are best and which you should stay away from.  You are your own experiment.  Try eating gluten-free.

This episode we talk about protein as a macronutrient and how delightful/essential it is to progress in your journey of health, fitness, and overall wellness! We also do a product review of some new speed ropes we just acquired!

There's always been myths and questions behind whether or not fat as a macronutrient is good for you. This episode we discuss how much we love fat!