What’s On My Mind - October 2023

This Month’s Health Challenge
Plan Your Meals

A Fitness Trend I’m Noticing
Every Professional Athlete Cross-Trains

A Study that Interested Me
Effects of Running-Specific Strength Training, Endurance Training, and Concurrent Training on Recreational Endurance Athletes’ Performance and Selected Anthropometric Parameters

A Myth that Needs to Be Busted
An Elite Running Program Only Involves Running

A Book/Podcast Episode/Video/Article that Interested Me
The 5 Minute Journal

This Month’s Health Challenge

Plan Your Meals

When we are hungry, we don't make great choices, so don't save your food decisions for when you're hungry!

It's a simple question that Coach April likes to ask sometimes in the PM classes, "What are you eating tonight for dinner?" It blew our minds that most people do not know?!?! You will be surprised at how far some simple planning can go on this front.

If you've worked with me personally via my MOMENTUM program, then this way of thinking will not be new to you. I find it useful to view myself with two main personalities. One of me is strong, motivated, rested, in a great mood, and loves life. Another version of me is tired, stressed out, overwhelmed, and just looking for a quick win. I think it's obvious which version I'd like making my decisions. I have learned to let the strong version of me run my life as much as possible. That guy makes some great plans and if things aren't going well does a great job of reviewing the plans and updating them. When followed, the plans push my life in the direction I have pre-defined. I have only given the weak, in-the-moment version of me the authority to follow the plans. There is no negotiating between strong me and in-the-moment me, because in the moment, the only me that is present is the in-the-moment me and that guy kinda sucks. If strong me decided that I'm going to eat steak and vegetables for dinner then that's what in-the-moment me is going to eat. My diet is not perfect, but it is almost 100% planned.

If you looked back at your diet over the last month, does it look that way you wish it looked? If not, then that's the strong version of you wanting the in-the-moment version of you to make different choices. How do you fix that? Have the strong version of you make the choices and create the plan and then work hard to simply follow through.

Something to Try:
Each morning, think about what you are going to eat that day, where that food going to come from, and how are you going to have it around you when it's time to eat. In doing this, I catch myself before I run out of food at the house or I can pre-plan what I'm going to order if I know what restaurant I'm going to later. From there, simply-follow through.

A Fitness Trend I’m Noticing

All Professional Athlete Cross-Train
Without going so far into a niche that you'd have to argue it's even a sport, I don't think there is a single athlete who is the best in the world in their sport who does not cross-train. Why? Other areas of fitness have significant spillover benefits and single modality training has diminishing returns causing training in just one modality to have huge opportunity costs.

Why do powerlifters who are able to squat and bench press over 1,000 pounds (sounds crazy, but that’s real) only lift heavy in those exercises once a week?

In the article, Why Every Professional Athlete Cross-Trains, I explore the diminishing returns and opportunity costs of single modality programs and how cross-training boosts results in each area in fitness further than possible if trained by itself.

Why Every Professional Athlete Cross-Trains

A Study that Interested Me

Effects of Running-Specific Strength Training, Endurance Training, and Concurrent Training on Recreational Endurance Athletes’ Performance and Selected Anthropometric Parameters
Pablo Prieto-González and Jaromir Sedlacek
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Sep

Maybe this is a study that I'm glad exists, but not very interesting as, at this point, it's no surprise to me that when comparing a strength only, running only, and a mix program, the mix program was able to make significant improvements in all areas. Additionally, the study concludes that by cross-training you will be less likely to lose the gains made in any specific area too.

A Myth that Needs to be Busted

Myth: Elite Level

Powerlifters only do strength work.
Marathoners only Run
Cyclists only cycle
Basketball players only play basketball
...etc.

All of the best in the world, cross-train, it's only amateurs who only exercise in one domain, like runners, cyclists, etc. Elite athletes cross-train with a mix of general fitness biased towards the areas that have the most spillover into the specifics of their sport and a mix of things that directly benefit performance ther sport.

Although some consider adding swimming and cycling into a running program as cross-training (which does likely have benefits), that is not what the professionals are doing. They spend at least some time developing mobility/balance, speed/power, strength/muscle, lactate thresholds/VO2 Max, and endurance/stamina. They weight how much time they spend in a way that maximally benefits performance in their event.

A Book/Article/Podcast/Video that I’d Highly Recommend

I have spent a few months with The 5 Minute Journal and it really taught me a lot!

This is a daily journal with AM entries and PM entries. Among the most insightful for me, the journal brought focus to the 3 most amazing things that happens each day and the 1 thing I wish I did better. These have resonated and stuck with me and really have helped me improve my overall daily happiness and to get rid of bad habits.

Sticking in theme with our Monthly Challenge, after a few weeks of following the journal, I added in a "Where is my food coming from today" section I did each morning.

I don't expect you to like every aspect of the journal or do to it forever, but I highly recommend at least experiencing how something like The 5 Minute Journal can benefit your life. I really has left a positive mark on me.