The AllAroundJoe Fitness Podcast

In this episode you’ll learn about Meal Prep, plus…

• Why meal prep will help you get in shape faster.
• How to do meal prep in 2 hours.
• What recipes are my favorite.
• And much, much more.

When you’re trying to accomplish anything with you body, the food that you eat is a MAJOR factor in your success. And something that can help you enormously when trying to reach those goal is meal consistency. Meaning eating the same meals every day.

Now this might sound boring to you, but do you want to be fat and have variety, or do you want to feel great, be ripped, and learn how to eat the same foods each week?

You decide.

Oh, and did I mention that you can make even the same foods taste different with a few little tricks… You can.

If you listen to the podcast you’ll get all the tricks.

Resources and links mentioned in this podcast

AllAroundJoe.com/MealPrep

*above could be affiliate links. I get a small commission if you click through them and buy, but they in no way make the products cost anymore. If you decide to use them please let me know so I can thank you.

Listening options

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• Listen on Stitcher Radio

 

Help me out!

If you haven’t done so already, it would totally help me out if you could give me a quick iTunes review by clicking the link below. My goal is to help as many people as possible with this podcast, and each review helps me get more people listening.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/allaroundjoe-podcast-fitness/id690333495

The post AAJ 038: Meal Prep for diet success appeared first on AllAroundJoe.

In this episode you’ll learn about the Why you don’t have a muscle up, plus…

• What you need to do to get a muscle up.
• What the difference is between someone who succeeds vs. someone who fails.
• How to be better at life.
• And that’s about it…

With so much hype around CrossFit this year, I hope there are a TON of you listening to this. It’s not because it’s about getting a muscle up. It’s about getting your goals.

Those goals could be a muscle up, or a business, or a relationship.

What this podcast is really about is practice, goal setting, and more practice. You want your muscle up? Well, get to work!

You’ll have to practice over and over and over and over. And when you don’t want to practice anymore… keep practicing!

I recommend writing down all of your goals. Personal goals, business goals, gym goal, all of your goals. Then put together a practice routine for achieving those goals.

This can include watching videos to learn about getting your muscle up… actually practicing the movement, and segmented parts of the movement… having a coach work with you on the movement.

Now if you have those goals other than the muscle up, just apply them the same way.

I’m sorry.

I forgot to mention that this won’t be easy for most of you. You’ll have to put hours of practice into this. Any big goal requires this kind of commitment.

But, trust me when I say that it’s worth it. It’s totally worth it on so many levels.

Now if you need any help with this just drop a comment below or shoot me an email. Get moving!

Resources and links mentioned in this podcast

AAJ 030: How routines and triggers can hack your way to a great body AAJ 024: How become a better CrossFit athlete

*above could be affiliate links. I get a small commission if you click through them and buy, but they in no way make the products cost anymore. If you decide to use them please let me know so I can thank you.

Listening options

• Subscribe via iTunes
• Listen on Stitcher Radio

 

Help me out!

If you haven’t done so already, it would totally help me out if you could give me a quick iTunes review by clicking the link below. My goal is to help as many people as possible with this podcast, and each review helps me get more people listening.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/allaroundjoe-podcast-fitness/id690333495

The post AAJ 037: Why you don’t have a muscle up appeared first on AllAroundJoe.

In this episode you’ll learn about the Crazy Truth About Overtraining, plus…

• How you can avoid overtraining with some leg work.
• What supplements I’m taking to get out of overtraining.
• How I’m doing with the CrossFit Open.
• And an AWESOME tool that I recommend everyone uses starting today.

Resources and links mentioned in this podcast

Master Pattern Amino Acids (MAP) Thorne L-Tyrosine Hair Mineral Analysis

Download my Adrenal Stress Profile here

1999-2000

College baseball 2 weight training workouts a day, and 1 conditioning workout.

2001-2005

Bodybuilding Gun ShowOver those years I was going back and forth between gaining, and cutting training cycles. The gaining cycles were 3-6 months long, and were pretty healthy. Only one workout per day, and LOTS of food. The cutting cycles were usually 3 months long, and were designed to get me as lean as possible. They got harder as I got closer to the end of the training cycle. And at the peak (usually the last month) I would run for 5 miles in the morning, lift weights for an hour in the afternoon, and be on the treadmill for an hour at night. Not to mention I was cutting my carbs and fats. I’m not really sure how my body survived on that diet.

2006

Moved to New York City New York is a great place, but is the opposite of stress free. The place is go, go, go all the time. If you slow down you get trampled. It was a great environment for learning how to work hard, and push yourself mentally. But not great at all for living a well rounded life.

I fluttered for a few years still training like a bodybuilder, but coming to the realization that if I wanted to reach my goals I’d need to take steroids. And I wasn’t willing to do that.

2008 – The Real Fun Begins

The New York City Marathon After a couple of years without a solid workout goal I decided to run a marathon. I did several races leading up to the marathon, and ran it in over 4 hours. Not fast, but I also decided to run home from the marathon which sparked a whole new set of adventures. NYC Marathon

2009

May – First Ultra Marathon Washington DC 50k I ran a 50k trail race in Washington DC. It felt hard, but not too bad. I thought I could go longer…

DC 50k Ultra Marathon

July – First Triathlon This year I also did my first triathlon. It was a weird tri with a kayak, road bike, trail run. Changing sports in one event felt really strange.

First Triathlon 2010

May – Second 50k Ultra Marathon Bear Mountain NY 50k This was a far harder course than my first 50k. It was at Bear Mountain NY. It still felt good, and I was gearing up for more one race at a time.

2nd 50k Ultra Marathon Started CrossFit

June – First 50 Mile Ultra Marathon Washington DC 50 Mile I went back to the Washington DC course to run the 50 mile race. This one hurt pretty bad, but I never considered not finishing it. It was a fairly flat course which was good for my first 50 miler.

First 50 Mile Ultra Marathon

July – Pike Peak Marathon Without any planning… a few friends and I ran the Pikes Peak marathon course for fun. It was the first time that I had been at elevation, and maybe the first time I started to feel any real fatigue. I remember not being able to hardly run at all near the top. My body just wouldn’t do what I wanted it to.

Pikes Peak Marathon For Fun

July – First Olympic Distance Triathlon ChelanMan Olympic Triathlon I trained for this triathlon while on a road trip from NYC to Seattle. My brother also taught me how to swim on the road trip. I literally didn’t know how to do a crawl stroke before starting the road trip, and complete an Olympic distance triathlon 3 weeks later. This tri was really fun, and I’d decided that I liked the three sport approach. It was a new challenge, and my weight training background seemed to help with swimming and biking.

Training for Tri on Road TripFirst Olympic Tri

November – Ran 54 Miles Around Lake Washington This was just another fun run. I decided that I should just go out and do it. I really hadn’t trained for an Ultra run, and the longest run that I’d done leading up to this was about 13 miles. It was a little bit of “let’s see what I can do without training”. So I did it, and it took about 9.5 hours. This one made me hurt bad! I really didn’t want to run the last 3 miles. There was lots of pain, and my body wanting to shut down.

Run Around Lk Wa (54 miles)

Started Increasing Intensity of CrossFit Workouts

2011

May – Second 50 Mile Ultra Marathon Bear Mountain NY 50 Mile Leading up to this race I felt like I was in the best shape of my life, and was expecting to finish top 10 in the race. Unfortunately fate had other plans… at about mile 20 my hip flexor started cramping, and I had to hobble through the last 30 miles. I finished, but it wasn’t pretty, and my hip flexor hurt for weeks.

Second 50 Mile Ultra Marathon

July – First Half Ironman Distance Triathlon ChelanMan Half Ironman I did this race as a training race for my upcoming full Ironman. I remember it feeling bad like I just couldn’t push my body. I was probably overtrained for the race. My body just wouldn’t go.

First Half Ironman

August – First Ironman Ironman Canada Somehow for this race I actually felt pretty good. I was above my projected time until about halfway through the run where I experienced really bad stomach cramping and had to walk for a few miles. After my stomach settled I was able to run the rest of the race, and finish feeling good. I did a few light workouts the week following this race, but took it pretty each before jumping back into training. I should have taken the rest of the year off!

First Ironman (Canada)

November – Second Ironman Ironman Cozumel This is the first time that I really should have thrown up the red flag. During my taper for this event something really didn’t feel right. My body really felt burned out before the race even started. Then it gets worse! During the bike ride my body kept trying to fall asleep on me. I would be on my bike peddling hard, and my eyes would literally fall shut, and I’d have to ride standing up to snap back awake. This continued for at least 2 hours of the bike portion of the race. I was so happy to get to the run, but it was just a total slog. And although I finished faster than I did for the previous Ironman, I felt WAY worse at the end.

Second Ironman (Cozumel) 2012

March – CrossFit Open This was the first year that I was exposed to the CrossFit Open. I did one of my Open workouts at CrossFit Invictus just by chance, and started doing the Invictus Competition programing shortly afterward.

CrossFit Open at Invictus

For the remainder of 2012 I did 2+ hour long CrossFit Invictus Competition programing. I was getting strong, but I remember my quads hurting so bad that I couldn’t sit down for my than 30 minutes without them cramping so bad that I was in excruciating pain. There were even several times that I was riding in the car, and had to stop the car to get out and stretch my legs.

July – 2nd Olympic Distance Triathlon ChelanMan Olympic Triathlon This race I just did for fun. I had a few friends that were doing it, so without any training swim, bike, run at all I did the race. As you can imagine it didn’t feel great.

Second Olympic Tri (ChelanMan) 2013

March – CrossFit Open I had trained very hard all year hoping that I’d do well in the CrossFit Open. I had gained a ton of strength, and improved my technique a ton. What I was missing was cardio. This might have been a good thing for my body, as I wasn’t feeling super overtrained. Although I did feel overtrained about a month out from the Open, and took a week off via my coaches advice. Looking back now… I probably needed a month off.

The 2+ hour CrossFit workouts continued with very little time off. Most weeks I felt totally trashed, but kept pushing through. Pain couldn’t stop me. At least that’s what I thought…

August – 93 Mile Wonderland Train in 3 Days This was a bright idea that a few CrossFitters and I had. We wanted to hike the Wonderland trail. This is the trail the circumferences Mount Rainier in WA. But we decided that it wouldn’t be fun unless we did it in 3 days. That meant over a marathon a day for 3 days with a cumulative elevation gain over over 22,000 feet. Crazy, right?! Well… we did it. It took the full 3 days, and we were all hurting bad through most of it. My lower legs were swollen for about a week. And it took about a month before I could squat the same amount of weight as before the hike.

Wonderland Train in 3 Days 2014

March – CrossFit Open This was the first year that I felt prepared for the Open. I learned from the previous year, and included more cardio in my preparation. I gave my all on every workout, and our team qualified for the CrossFit Regionals.

CrossFit Open 14.1

May – CrossFit Regionals This was an amazing experience! But what I felt during the competition wasn’t right. I just had no energy. It was like I was constantly forcing my body to move, and all it wanted to do was lay down. I mean the workouts were hard, but not that hard, and there was something wrong. We finished 8th in the NorthWest, and I can only guess that we could have done better had I been 100%.

CrossFit Regionals 2014

Over the remainder of the year my workouts continued to be hard and long. But I did everything that I possibly could think of to recover faster. It just didn’t work. And during the fall I started to have the sleepy feeling come back during workouts. That same feeling I had while riding my bike during Ironman Cozumel. Usually about once per week my body would just want to shut down during a workout. I could have fallen asleep right there on the gym floor. I’m not joking.

That was when I started looking into getting my body tested, and I found the Ben Greenfield podcast where I learned how to test if I had adrenal fatigue. There’s an easy test that you can do in a dark room of your house that will tell you if you have adrenal fatigue.

Looking back… If I look back over the years it clear to me how I got into adrenal fatigue. I just didn’t listen to my body. But it’s really bigger than that because it’s nearly impossible to know if you’re not recovering without having some way of measuring it.

The first way that I suggest that everyone starts to measure their recovery is with the Sweet Beat Life app. It was the first piece of data that I saw that showed me something was not right. Then from there you can go further down the road with lab testing.

CrossFit and endurance sports are taxing on your body, and I’m a perfect example of what can happen when you don’t listen to the cues that your body is telling you.

EVERYONE WHO’S TRAINING HARD SHOULD BE TESTING THEIR HRV EVERYDAY!!!

Resources – Sweet Beat Life app – Nourish Balance Thrive – Ben Greenfield Podcast – Adrenal Fatigue Solution Book

The post AAJ 035: How I got myself into adrenal fatigue appeared first on AllAroundJoe.

Listen to the podcast (above) to hear a more in-depth description of why I picked these products as my favorites.

Gear:

Lululemon Assert Shorts – The most comfortable CrossFit shorts I’ve ever worn. Reebok CrossFit Nano 4’s – My favorite edition of the CrossFit Nano series. Thorlo Experia socks – I now have 8 pairs of these. They are super cushy, and great for workouts.

Supplements:

Bio-Gro – A great colostrum supplement that helped me hit PRs while I was overtrained. That’s unheard of! AM-PM Multivitamin – The most complete multivitamin that I’ve ever used, and is actually certified to contain what’s on the label. TianChi – This has replaced my coffee, helps me sleep better and fine tunes my hormones. Really amazing stuff! Inner Peace – Holy deep sleep batman! If you want to sleep deeper give these natural herbs a try.

Tech:

Sweet Beat Life app – This app is the single most important part of my training day. It tells me if I should train or rest based on what the INSIDE of my body is doing. Read/listen to my review here.

Some of the above are affiliate links, and I will get paid a small commission if you click, and buy through them. So, if you are going to buy any of the above products please click the link and support the AllAroundJoe blog. Thanks!

The post AAJ 034: Favorite things of 2014 appeared first on AllAroundJoe.

In this episode you’ll learn about the Mega Bar, plus…

• Who the Mega Bar is for.
• How you can use the Mega Bar to get into great shape without a gym.
• What exercises you can do on the Mega Bar.
• And much, much more.

I have known Obidi for quite a few months now. He’s a great person with a very cool product.

The product is called Mega Bar. It’s an at-home workout solution that brings a lot of barbell and bodyweight exercises into your home or office.

The Mega Bar allows you to do pull-ups, band work, suspension work, and most barbell movements.

The real difference is all of the barbell movements that you can do without having to have a huge barbell in your home or office, and the Mega Bar doubles as your pull-up bar that fits into your door jam.

It’s a very cool product!

You can help Obidi, and get a Mega Bar of your own by going to his Kickstarter campaign.

He say the Mega Bars will ship in March 2015.

Resources and links mentioned in this podcast

Gym Supreme – www.GymSupreme.com Kickstarter – Click here to see Obidi’s Kickstarter campaign

*above could be affiliate links. I get a small commission if you click through them and buy, but they in no way make the products cost anymore. If you decide to use them please let me know so I can thank you.

Listening options

• Subscribe via iTunes
• Listen on Stitcher Radio

 

Help me out!

If you haven’t done so already, it would totally help me out if you could give me a quick iTunes review by clicking the link below. My goal is to help as many people as possible with this podcast, and each review helps me get more people listening.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/allaroundjoe-podcast-fitness/id690333495

The post AAJ 033: Interview w/ Mega Bar creator Obidi Orakwusi appeared first on AllAroundJoe.

In this episode you’ll learn about why I quit CrossFit, plus…

• When you should consider taking time off.
• How to test if you’re overtrained.
• What supplements to take if you are overtrained.
• And much, much more.

After some long hard thought, I’ve decided to take some time away from CrossFit.

What does this mean…

Well, I’m actually at the CrossFit gym right now, but I won’t be training anytime soon. Or at least until my parasympathetic nervous system starts working like it should be.

I’m hope that it doesn’t take too long because I’m feeling like I’m losing my strength and endurance on a daily basis. But I know that in the long run it will be a good thing.

If you think about it, most athletes have an off season. I can tell you that I haven’t ever taken an off season, never. The most time off that I have ever taken is 1 week of inactivity after any race that was a marathon distance or longer.

The funny thing is that there are people out there like Joe De Sena, the founder of the Spartan Race who believe that overtraining is a myth. Man, do I wish that was the case Joe.

So, for now I’m focusing on yoga, Melt, ice baths, and taking all the right supplements. And sleep, but I’ve always gotten lots of sleep. Maybe that’s why I’ve been able to survive for so long.

Anyway, if you are training hard for anything I highly recommend that you start taking your HRV, and monitoring your sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.

Resources and links mentioned in this podcast (my overtraining recovery stack)

Vitamin C – 4-5g a day TianChi – One pack first thing in the morning Vitamin D – 7500iu’s a day ThorneFX AM/PM Multi Vitamin – I take 3 pills in the AM, and 3 in the PM Inner Peace Chinese Herbs – I take 2-3 pills in the evening on an empty stomach Acupuncture – 1-2 times a week Ice Baths – I forgot to mention this one on the podcast. I’ve found that ice baths jack up my parasympathetic nervous system power 3,000 to 6,000 points for about 30-60 mins after a bath. I’ve been taking the ice baths 3-5 times a week. Ben Greenfield article – What to do when you’re overtrained

*above could be affiliate links. I get a small commission if you click through them and buy, but they in no way make the products cost anymore. If you decide to use them please let me know so I can thank you.

Listening options

• Subscribe via iTunes
• Listen on Stitcher Radio

 

Help me out!

If you haven’t done so already, it would totally help me out if you could give me a quick iTunes review by clicking the link below. My goal is to help as many people as possible with this podcast, and each review helps me get more people listening.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/allaroundjoe-podcast-fitness/id690333495

The post AAJ 032: Why I quit CrossFit… for now. appeared first on AllAroundJoe.

In this episode you get a holiday eating attack plan, plus…

• When you should eat to lose fat.
• How to eat all you want during the holidays and lose weight.
• What exercises you need to be doing to keep the holiday pounds off.
• Where to get products to get rid of soreness.

With the holidays upon us I know how easy it can be to slip into the “I’ll take care of my weight gain in the new year” attitude.

But, you know what… screw that!

I have the solution for you in this podcast. This is YOUR holiday eating attack plan.

No more wondering how to eat.

No more trying to eat healthy during the holiday parties. I want you to eat everything, if you follow this holiday eating attack plan.

Just no more excuses for not being in the kind of shape that you want to be in.

This holiday attack plan will give you the tools that you need to actually lose weight through the holidays, AND eat all of the food at the parties.

And no, it doesn’t involve working out until you want to kill yourself either. It’s all about timing.

What you don’t know will hurt you.

I highly recommend that you listen to the Holiday eating attack plan, but if you’re more of a reader…. you can get the original post at my wedding fitness site by clicking here.

Resources and links mentioned in this podcast

Blonyx HMB+Creatine – Get 10% off with code: AllAroundJoe

*above could be affiliate links. I get a small commission if you click through them and buy, but they in no way make the products cost anymore. If you decide to use them please let me know so I can thank you.

Listening options

• Subscribe via iTunes
• Listen on Stitcher Radio

 

Help me out!

If you haven’t done so already, it would totally help me out if you could give me a quick iTunes review by clicking the link below. My goal is to help as many people as possible with this podcast, and each review helps me get more people listening.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/allaroundjoe-podcast-fitness/id690333495

The post AAJ 031: The holiday eating attack plan appeared first on AllAroundJoe.

This AllAroundJoe podcast is sponsored by Blonyx. Use code: AllAroundJoe for 10% off.

In this episode you learn about how to create an effective workout routine, plus…

• How to workout without thinking about it.
• How to cascade from one positive thing to another.
• How to keep from getting injured in the future.
• And much more.

Here’s an example of my daily routine:

Wake up Go to the bathroom Take supplements (TianChi) Drink 20-40 oz of water Meditate for 10-40 mins Cook breakfast (bacon, kale, eggs) Listen to book while cooking. Do dishes Eat breakfast Brush teeth while taking a cold shower Create for 1 hour Answer emails Meetings Eat Workout #1 Eat Answer emails/work Workout #2 Eat dinner Cold shower/ice bath Sleep

What does it take to get people to stick with a fitness program?

Routine! Create your routine now.

This is how I’ve been able to stick with meditation, cold showers, eating tons of spinach and kale, and drinking 160 oz of water a day.

You have to have a trigger and a routine. How in the world do you think I’d be able to take all of these cold showers and baths?

Resources and links mentioned in this podcast

ThorneFX.com Multivitamin Amazon vitamin c Omvana Meditation AllAroundJoe HRV podcast Blonyx podcast Blonyx HMB+Creatine review

*above could be affiliate links. I get a small commission if you click through them and buy, but they in no way make the products cost anymore. If you decide to use them please let me know so I can thank you.

Listening options

• Subscribe via iTunes
• Listen on Stitcher Radio

 

Help me out!

If you haven’t done so already, it would totally help me out if you could give me a quick iTunes review by clicking the link below. My goal is to help as many people as possible with this podcast, and each review helps me get more people listening.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/allaroundjoe-podcast-fitness/id690333495

The post AAJ 030: How routines and triggers can hack your way to a great body appeared first on AllAroundJoe.

When it comes to CrossFit it’s easy to get addicted. You start to see improvements, it’s fun, you see more improvements, you’re looking amazing, you see more improvements, you’re getting competitive, you see more improvements, you push even harder, you start to feel like crap.

You cannot figure out why you feel like crap. You’ve been eating great. Mostly Paleo, lots of calories.

You workout all the time. Sometimes up to 2 hours a day. You drink tons of water. You take all of the recommend supplements for muscle growth and recovery.

Lake Chelan Ice BathIn order to start feeling better for your workouts you take pre-workout supplements loaded with caffeine, or drink coffee. It works for a little while, and you crush workouts.

What you don’t realized is that you are fatiguing your insides. You hormones are drowning.

Finally you hit a wall. You can’t sleep (or you can’t stay awake). Your energy levels just don’t feel right unless you’re jacked with caffeine.

And finally you’re workouts start to suffer. You can’t hit the numbers that you used to hit, and when you tell your body to push… it literally shuts down, and you can hardly move.

When you ask your coach they probably say to take some time off, and eat more.

You take a week off, and when you get back to CrossFit you feel better. Well, you feel better for a few days or weeks. It really depends on how many times you’ve gone through the overreaching cycle.

The problem is that every time you train you don’t fully recover.

Eventually your hormones can’t keep up. And in my case it was my adrenal glands.

These are the glands that are located on top of your kidneys, and produce the hormones that are responsible for your fight or flight (sympathetic), and rest & relax (parasympathetic) nervous systems.

In my case the rest and relax system became fatigued, causing all of the above symptoms.

The initial feeling of fatigue is what lead me to the Ben Greenfield podcast, and the Sweet Beat Life iPhone app.

The Sweet Beat Life app measures your Heart Rate Variability (HRV), and the power of your parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems.

The coolest things is that the HRV can tell you how recovered your body is, and if it’s ready for another CrossFit workout. It will literally tell you to have an easy workout day, or even take the day off. It does this when you simply open the app and take your heart rate for 3 minutes in the morning.

The Sweet Beat Life app is so beneficial that I’ve asked ALL of our competitive athletes at StoneWay CrossFit to start using it daily. If the app says to take the day off there’s no arguing.

We all want to get better, and we get better during rest from hard training.

I’ve always told people to listen to their bodies, but the real truth is that we can listen, but without tools like the Sweet Beat Life app we have no idea what our bodies are saying.

My HRV Reading Parasympathetic/Sympathetic

I highly recommend that ALL CrossFit athletes use the SweetBeatLife app, and make sure that your body is as healthy on the inside as it looks on the outside.

Listen to the included podcast to hear even more about my story, and how I’m using the SweetBeatLife app.

In this episode you learn about CrossFit and overtraining, plus…

• The HRV tracking Sweet Beat Life app.
• Where to learn about HRV.
• What heart rate monitor that I’m using.
• And much more.

Resources and links mentioned in this podcast

Sweet Beat Life app for iPhone 60Beat Heart Rate Monitor Ben Greenfield Fitness HRV/SweetBeatLife Podcast #1, #2, #3

*above could be affiliate links. I get a small commission if you click through them and buy, but they in no way make the products cost anymore. If you decide to use them please let me know so I can thank you.

Listening options

• Subscribe via iTunes
• Listen on Stitcher Radio

Help me out!

If you haven’t done so already, it would totally help me out if you could give me a quick iTunes review by clicking the link below. My goal is to help as many people as possible with this podcast, and each review helps me get more people listening.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/allaroundjoe-podcast-fitness/id690333495

The post AAJ 029: CrossFit’s dirty little secret… overtraining (not rhabdo) appeared first on AllAroundJoe.