Soul Rebel Digest Vol 3.24
First up, I would love to hear from you!
Since the beginning of the year, you worked on bringing awareness to & making improvements in the way you eat?
What have you found easy?
What have you found challenging?
What have you learned?
Missed the previous Soul Rebel Digests? Catch up here:
For March, we are going to focus on FUELLING your body for your workouts. This is a particularly hot topic leading into The CrossFit Open where you're wanting to challenge your body, get outside your comfort zone & see what you're capable of.
Unsure what The CrossFit Open is? You should sign up!
It's open to all levels, heaps of fun to challenge yourself each year & an epic community event to be part of!
Ok, back to fuel!
Let's keep this super simple.
CrossFit is high intensity.
High intensity needs carbohydrates in order for you to have the energy to perform well & recover optimally.
STOP being afraid of carbs.
Somewhere along the line someone demonised carbs. Many people have become afraid of eating breads, rice, pasta & for the love of god FRUIT!
What I would consider a 'high carb' diet, is someone who does not eat enough real foods, fats or proteins or/& has an excess of processed carbs.
If you eat real foods, mostly plants & still consume some processed carbs, I simply call this your 'diet'. There are no labels. It's just your nutrition. What you eat. 'High', to me, suggests excessive or more information is needed to understand the context.
All the foods below contain carbs. From breads to pastas to fruits & vegetables!
So, what to do around your workouts...
The hard part is... it depends. You need to experiment, because we're all different. So rather than tell you what to do, I have a few ideas you can think about or play with. First up, do you feel best when:
You consume lots of little meals throughout the day?
You consume 3 bigger meals?
You have one large meal at the end of the day?
You have your last meal closer to or further from your training session?
You have your first meal soon after or a while after your training session?
If you've been tracking what you've been eating through Feb, now might be a cool experiment to track when you're eating. You may not need to change much, but maybe you need to move when you're eating your meals to a more optimal time for you.
At the end of the day, if you're eating enough of the right foods throughout the day, you may not feel the need to eat around your training. Some people can't handle even a mouthful of banana before a class, others can't stomach water straight after. You might be someone who can eat or drink anything directly before or after. It all depends on you!
But, what I would suggest, is that if your meals throughout the day are not optimal, this needs addressing first, because this is where the majority of your fuel is coming from. If you aren't getting properly fuelled throughout the day, you don't yet understand the full potential of how great you could feel in or outside the gym & adding in snacks might be covering up the real issue.
Now, if we're talking pre workout snacks, here a few simple yet effective great ideas for you to get quick energy before a class:
Banana, apple - any piece of fruit you enjoy!
Punnet of berries
Honey or/& peanut butter in a wrap
Rice cakes with cottage cheese
The above ideas are perfectly nutritious, wholefoods or minimally processed that are great for pre workouts. The more you can snack on things that don't come out of a wrapper - you're on the right track!
Options available in our Pro-Shop
Sodii Hydration drink
ATP Science Infrared
ATP Bar
Peak Energy Chocolate
FitAid, Boochd, Wayv drinks
These options are great for when you need something quick or you're having an unorganised day. Rather than not fuelling at all, or if you feel you need that extra pick me up, it's best to have a little something to give your body the energy it needs to maximise your training results.
To conclude this topic, remember what you eat throughout your day is super important. Let's address this first if you feel you're lagging in energy when it comes to your training session.
Then, start playing with snacks if you're feeling your tank is empty. These is no harm in experimenting with snacks from the get go, just don't allow it to overshadow any issues that may need tweaking throughout the day!
Would love to hear how you go with this, have already had some great feedback from a few members who have made some seemingly small changes with massive outcomes!
As always, please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions!
