Nutrition:

1. Before embarking on the latest cult of personality diet and supplement strategy, you need to know where you’re starting from. Get a complete blood chemistry work-up including food sensitivities and find someone doing live blood analysis—oh the things you’ll learn!

2. Before deciding you’re a “high-protein” or “vegetarian” eater, go find out your blood type and check into Dr. Peter D’Adamo’s Blood Type Strategies.

3. Protein has become a panacea Holy Grail endeavor nowadays for athletes. How much do you really need? Think .5-1.0 grams per lean pound of muscle mass—sorry Charlie, but you’re not all muscle!

4. Perhaps “gluten-free” has become overblown. Know what isn’t? Being healthy.

5. Traditional dairy sources for calcium and protein are overrated at best and potentially self-sabotaging at worse. Almond, rice, hemp and flaxseed milk are better alternatives… if you need to drink milk.

6. Stop buying whey protein! Doesn’t matter in what form or laboratory it comes from.

7. You can’t train your way out of a poor nutritional foundation or a weekend of debauchery.

8. For those in shock to #6, what are better options? Grass-fed beef/bison/lamb; plant-based proteins like hemp seed; rice protein; free-range eggs; pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, and nuts; EPIC Bars.

9. Algorithm for buying food: 

      Step 1, was it once alive? 

      Step 2, was it free of hormones, pesticides, pollution and           antibiotics? 

      Step 3, was it free to either move around, grow without a          geneticist or chemist, and corn-free?

      If yes, then get-it!

10. There are actually four macronutrients: Protein, Fat, Carbs and Water. Know which ones you need more of? Water and Fat.

11. Fats are like the Force… or the wizarding world… or people in general: there’s a good side and a dark side. Embrace the light side and shun the dark side.

12. Carb Loading is a theory. The reality is your better off without this theory.

13. Most athletes need more healthy fats and less preconceived protein/carb notions.

14. What are healthy carbs? Veggies—perhaps fermented—fruits, sweet potatoes, plantains, sprouted seeds, and Ezekiel bread. Not so sure about rice, legumes and grains. Pasta is out.

15. Your gut flora—good bacteria—has a role to play in your food digestion and assimilation, immune system, and perhaps emotional/mental health. So stop using antibacterial soap and start getting fermented foods and probiotics into your system!

Training

16. Go. Do. Something.

17. Odds are you are suffering right now from D.B.S. Dormant Butt Syndrome aka, Gluteus No Workus. Learn how to hip hinge and get your posterior chain on!

18. Runners and weightlifters need to learn the same thing: how to engage their diaphragm.

19. You may be able to lift more weight when holding your breath; sacrificing form or otherwise getting caddy whompass. You might even be able to get away with it a few times. Sooner or later though you’ll be complaining about a shoulder, knee, neck or back. Guaranteed.

20. Runners and weightlifters need to learn the same thing: how to progressively ramp up and de-load their training volumes and intensities.

21. Pulling or pushing behind your neck is like playing with gas and matches around fireworks. Something’s going to go BOOM!

22. Running before doing dynamic prep work is like driving your car with the parking brake still on.

23. Bench pressing isn’t the worse thing to come out of the 60’s…I think.

24. If in doubt, don’t.

25. On the sixth day God created bear-crawling, skipping, pull-ups, suitcase carries, pistol squats, perfect push-ups, medball throws and jumping. Honor God’s creations.

26. Runners and weightlifters need to learn the same thing: they both need a little of the other’s training techniques.

27. Unilateral exercises and mobility work aren’t considered as sexy as other traditional “get strong” lifts, but I’ve yet to see an athlete in rehab who has done both.

28. Daniel-son needed to paint a lot of fences, wax a few cars and sand the deck to get his martial arts skills down. Don’t be in a hurry to skip the fundamentals or you risk getting your butt kicked!

29. Lifting heavy and near max levels too frequently is like holding down the sander on your wood project.

30. Have a plan, but don’t be married to it.

31. Running on a treadmill may be worse than not running at all.

32. The minute you think you have all the answers is when life plays Jeopardy with you.

33. Goldilocks had it right. It’s up to you to find the right balance. Oh, by the way, it’s going to change… constantly.

34. What works for her, may not work for you. To thine own self be true.

35. Variety is the spice of life and lifelong training.

36. Fall in love with your best friend, not an exercise!

Physical Therapy Potpourri

37. There’s 168 hours in a week. Are you using the majority to your advantage or hoping one to two hours a week will overcome the other 166?

38. Sitting for more than 30 minutes is like drinking hemlock in minute quantities.

39. Your hip flexors have a bigger influence on your breathing, glute function, back, knees and shoulders than you can possibly imagine!

40. Everything has a time and place. Don’t skip the Airex pads, Bosu and Swiss balls because they’re not hardcore, and don’t use them in everything like a damn circus show.

41. If in doubt, crawl it out.

42. Ankle, Hip and T-spine mobility in combination with diaphragmatic breathing may just be a panacea for everything…including Ebola.

43. Ice belongs in a glass, not on your skin.

44. If your physical therapist isn’t using his/her hands, get a new one.

45. Life is a series of choices. You decide what professionals you want to see or where you want to go.

46. Foam Rollers are best used to find trigger-points. Once you find them, stop rolling!

47. Motion is Lotion.

48. Exercise is medicine and medicine is a side effect.

49. Pain can play Jedi mind tricks on you. Practice deep breathing and having a short-term memory.

50. Life is a combination of art and science. So is medicine.

51. Your headaches are NOT caused by an aspirin or ibuprofen deficiency!

52. Listen to your body, it knows more than you think.

53. If you constantly need to drive a lacrosse ball into a painful muscle, you may need to see a PT.

54. Inflammation in the early stages of a tweak/injury is a GOOD thing. Would you call 911 and refuse to tell them where you are?

55. Your hips are the window to your athletic soul.

56. Nobody is more motivated to get better than a runner with a painful tweak!

57. Want to be a champ? Learn and practice how to move cleanly and efficiently. Class is in session daily.

You live a hectic, fast-paced life with little time for making and eating something that will vanquish your hunger, promote your health and satisfy your sweet tooth.

With very few exceptions, the fast-food industry is glorified, chemically produced crap you eat because of time and addiction…literally!

The food that goes, “pass your lips and over your gums,” should meet these criteria:

1. Be real food

2. Facilitate achieving your athletic goals

3. Assist in optimizing strength-weight ratio (i.e., fat loss)

4. Promote your health and well-being

So what can you do in five to ten minutes to meet this list of requirements?

Step 1: Buy some nutritionally dense Super-hero foods!

Pictured clockwise from left to right: banana-sunflower seed butter-broccoli-flaxseed-chia seeds-hemp seeds-kale-pepitas-blueberries.

Step 2: Get a blender you feel will work best for you—personally I use a NutriBullet.

Step 3: Combine and blend—this may take two blending runs to allow room for all of the food you’ll be combining together. Exact serving sizes used is listed below. Add water and or ice cubes to taste.

Step 4: Drink to your health and prosperity!

What is the nutritional value of this nectar of the gods?

Don’t be freaked out by the total fat coming in at 57.2g. This is high in omega-3 fatty acids that help to reduce your body’s inflammation, lower triglycerides, provide energy, satisfy hunger, help with cognition, and makes up the membrane in every cell in your body.

You can also throw away your protein powders since at nearly 45g, you’ll have plenty to stimulate muscle development, repair and maintenance for your training and aesthetic needs. In fact, if you’re a 180# male at 15% body-fat, this is 1/3 of your daily needs. If you’re a 140# female at 20% body-fat, this is roughly 50% of your daily protein needs!

The total carbohydrates are equal to two cans of pop, but what a difference in nutritional offerings! This is a perfect post training meal if you’re looking to replenish energy stores or a pre-game meal if you want to be ready for the fight! If you have insulin sensitivity concerns or prefer fewer carbs, you can drop the banana and reduce the blueberries to ½ cup.

The choice is yours.

Why waste your money and time on eating foods that offer little return on your health and bigger dents in your wallet in both the short and long-term?

Be a Super-hero in your choices!