250 slam balls

8000 m row

750 sandbag squats

10 – 900 meter terrain laps

250 thrusters

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Great Job to all our athletes that came out today and pushed through a tough team WOD!!

Special thanks to Brian from CrossFit Bixby for coming out and sweating with us!!!

Dead Lift Max

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Osteoarthritis is Not Your Destiny

Our concept of health only exists in opposition to its absence. Healthy is the default position. We’re not “supposed” to get strokes, coronary heart disease,diabetes, or cancer. Sure, a few people, here and there, are far more likely to suffer the ravages of the degenerative diseases of civilization, but the real numbers are inflated. For most of the population, we can avoid the worst of it, and if you spend a bit of time on MDA or any other ancestral online communities, you’ll see example after example of people taking charge of their health and experiencing newfound vibrancy. We’ve all gotta die someday, but we most assuredly do not have to die at 56 from a clogged artery.

But I cover longevity plenty. As you know, I’m also interested in increasing one’s enjoyment of life; I’m a big quality over quantity guy (both are good as long as the former is satisfied). And for my money, I can’t think of anything so central to our enjoyment of life as the ability move around pain free.

Last week, I discussed the causes of osteoarthritis in moose, and the general takeaway was that the greatest predictor of adult moose osteoarthritis is nutrition, not wear-and-tear. Thus, osteoarthritis is avoidable for moose. It is not their destiny. It is also not written that human men and human women must suffer the indignities and disability of osteoarthritis. We can live a long, full life of activity and physical engagement. We don’t have to accept broken down articular cartilage. Just in case you’re still subscribing to the paradigm of wear-and-tear, consider my experience.

I lived and trained with debilitating joint pain. At the time, I assumed (and had this assumption corroborated by every specialist I ever visited) that my arthritis resulted from the miles and miles of pounding abuse heaped upon my joints. It makes sense, on some level. Mechanical constructs eventually break down, right? Cars don’t last forever, tools need sharpening, and organic joints on our bodies eventually degrade and fall apart. Except organisms aren’t machines. We share similarities, and using mechanistic terminology can help us discuss and visualize health issues, but we are not fleshy machines. Machines require outside assistance and repair. Human bodies often require outside assistance and repair by skilled technicians (surgeons), but we also come equipped with self-regulatory functions. We don’t need a doctor’s assistance for every little cut, scratch, or nick we pick up along the way because our bodies can regrow skin and heal wounds. If someone slams a shopping cart into your car, leaving a dent, your car will never fix itself, no matter how small the dent is. A human – an outside force – needs to fix it. Not (always) so with human maladies.

Now, if you lop off an arm, you won’t be able to grow it back. There are limits. But our bodies can take a surprising amount of damage and bounce back. Broken bones can heal, and even healthy bones are constantly being broken down and reconstructed throughout life. Like muscles, bones respond to stress by refortifying and improving, which is why weight lifting is so good for improving bone density.

Our joints undergo similar machinations. Articular tissue responds to stress by refortifying and rebuilding itself, thanks to a kind of repair cell called a chondrocyte. Chondrocytes are to cartilage as osteoblasts are to bone, and they reside in and maintain the cartilaginous matrix that makes up the cartilage protecting and enabling joint function. They are constantly breaking down and restoring cartilage. Osteoblasts and chondrocytes both respond to weight-bearing stress. Both types of maintainer cells are derived from mesenchymal stem cells, which eventually differentiate into either chondrocytes or osteoblasts. Why do we praise the restorative function of osteoblasts while remaining ignorant of their cartilage-dwelling cousins?

So – both cartilage and bone can repair itself, but only to a point. It’s far more realistic to prevent the destruction of cartilage in the first place. Luckily, most people with some joint pain aren’t quite at bone-on-bone status. There’s room for improvement for most people. I was pretty far along and I bounced back. A friend of mine had a similar experience with his knee – a poor diet and tons of basketball led to missing knee cartilage and arthroscopic knee surgery at age 25. His surgeon figured it was the basketball – the wear-and-tear – that did it, and he assumed either a full knee replacement or super invasive experimental chondrocyte replacement would be required to restore basic function. Three years of Primal living later, he’s back lifting, running, and hiking more than ever. He’s never had MRI confirmation that cartilage has regrown, but he’s fully functional and has exceeded the wildest expectations of his surgeon.

I don’t think it’s wear-and-tear causing most of the osteoarthritis out there. I ran a ton, but I also ate a ton of inflammatory foods, like grains, ice cream, O6 fats (not that I sought them out, I just didn’t really distinguish between fats), and sugar. The running wasn’t helping, but something had to make my joints susceptible. These things are built to last, and we’ve always been an active, physical species. We haven’t always had cars and escalators to whisk us around the environment. Once I ditched the bad stuff and began eating Primally, everything clicked (except for my knees). And it’s not like I stopped exerting myself. On the contrary, I moved onto heavy weightlifting and sprints, all of which exert considerable amounts of stress on one’s joints. My joint integrity was simply no longer being undermined by poor dietary and lifestyle choices.

So, what can we do, beside lobby our doctors for invasive arthroscopic surgery recommendations, cease all physical activity, and never step outside without protective, padded footwear?

Ditch the grains, especially wheat: Avoiding grains in all forms – and yes, that includes beer (sadly) – was the single best move I made toward improving my joint function. Gluten intolerance is often connected to arthritis (yeah, avoid the vegan stuff and focus on the gluten avoidance), and Loren Cordain has tons of papers on possible connections between dietary lectins and arthritis (PDF). He focuses on rheumatoid arthritis, but I don’t think osteoarthritis and RA are so different. It’s just that osteoarthritis is assumed to be the “wear-and-tear” disease, but the moose story from last week (and the tale of the corn-fed Native Americans) refutes that.

Avoid excess omega 6 fats: Higher circulating levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), a pro-inflammatory cytokine that I’ve mentioned before, are highly significant predictors of osteoarthritis of the knee. Can you guess which type of polyunsaturated fatty acid leads to excessive levels of IL-6? Exactly.

Skip the corn, soybean, canola, and vegetable oil and the resultant pro-inflammatory eicosanoids. Use animal fat, butter, olive oil, and coconut oil instead, and eat plenty of fatty fish or take fish oil.

Avoid potatoes: They’re not the worst things in the world, but some people report joint pain after consuming potatoes. I sometimes get tinges of my old knee pain if I eat potatoes on consecutive days, though the problem seems to worsen if I eat the skins.

Go for more Primal friendly starch sources, like sweet potatoes, yams, and winter squash instead.

Get plenty of sun or supplement with vitamin D: According to several studies, low vitamin D status is linked to increased osteoarthritis.

Use turmeric: Turmeric, specifically curcumin, its active ingredient, appears to protect chondrocytes.

Eat Indian dishes (just make sure ghee is used!).

Consider glucosamine supplements: Art Ayers had an interesting take on glucosamine. Rather than it providing the raw material for cartilage production as it’s commonly assumed, glucosamine actually binds to free transglutaminase 2 (TG2). TG2 is a well-known marker for osteoarthritis severity, and it often binds with gluten, resulting in the formation of pro-inflammatory antibodies. If glucosamine binds with TG2, less TG2 is available to bind with more inflammatory compounds.

Another option is to drink bone broth on a regular basis and gnaw on the articular endpoints of animal bones.

Lift heavy things: In order to support healthy cartilage, your joints must bear weight. PB Fitness is great for that, as is a more traditional barbell approach. Just don’t think biking or swimming is enough; those may be useful for folks with no cartilage at all, but if you want your chondrocytes to do their job, you have to provide the right stimulus, and that means load-bearing exercises. It remains unclear whether cartilage can actually regrow thanks to proper exercise, but we do know that resistance training improves osteoarthritis outcomes.

Either sprint or move slowly: Chronic Cardio increases systemic inflammation and increases your desire for inflammatory, cheap carbs like grains. Try sprinting or hikinginstead.

Go barefoot: I’ve gone over this before, but I’ll reiterate. Wearing padded shoes disrupts your natural stride, and going barefoot allows valuable proprioreceptive input so you can intuitively adjust your landing to reduce stress on joints. Walking barefoot has also been shown to reduce loading on lower limb joints in patients with osteoarthritis (PDF).

When you get down to it, avoiding and managing osteoarthritis is pretty simple for your basic Primal eater. Avoid grains and other foods rich in dietary lectins. Reduce inflammation, both acute and systemic. Use anti-inflammatory spices. Get the right amount of exercise at the right intensity. Get some sun. Avoid autoimmune triggers, like gluten (and, for some, potatoes). Consider smart supplementation. Although to my knowledge this hasn’t been mentioned in research, I’d also suggest getting plenty of sleep every night, maintaining strong social bonds with loved ones and friends, and leading a low-stress lifestyle.

It’s pretty clear that the body deals with stressors rather indiscriminately, and a high stress lifestyle (no matter the source) is also an inflammatory one.

ARE KIPPING PULLUPS CHEATING?

21-15-9 push press/pushups

10 minute cap

score remainder of time by how many burpees completed

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Paleo Pancakes

This will make enough for 2 people. We also added a side of scrambled eggs with sweet bell pepper sausage and pepper.

2 whole eggs
1/2 cup almond meal
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 apple, cored and chunked
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 pint fresh blueberries
coconut oil for cooking

Combine all ingredients, except blueberries, into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Pour into a bowl and add blueberries. Heat a large pan on medium heat; add coconut oil and cook small pancakes 2-3 minutes on each side (these are hard to flip, so when they are ready, jab the spatula underneath fast)

400m run

500m row

intervals x 4

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Some call it rower or ergometer. Though rowing seems to be easy, it is actually one of the most challenging forms of exercise as it works most major muscular areas of the body. As not all of us stay at the seaside or close to lake, indoor rowing is the much common choice.

Old rowing machines were made with cheap hydraulic pistons, which produced a dragging rather than gliding feel. Nowadays, with the technology advancement,new rowing machines feel and sound like you are actually rowing on water, thanks to the use of flexible graphite composite and water-filled flywheel tanks. Electronic control panels will normally offer a number of pre-set program options and display elapsed time, stroke count, strokes per minute, calories burned, and even tempo.

Two main types of rowing machines are air rowers and water rowers. I personally find the air rowing machines to be more satisfying than the water rowers.When you exercise on these air rowing machines, each stroke turns an enclosed fan. The resistance of the air provides the resistance you feel when you pull for the stroke.

So, what are the benefits of using rowing machine?

4 Reasons You Should Use Try Rowing Machine

1. First and foremost, rowing machines offer a workout with little impact on the joints. Therefore, they are something senior citizens can use.
2. I like rowing machine because the exercise is self-paced; I can row as hard or as easily as I like. I am sure you can do the same. You glide back and forth on a seat as you pull back the pulleys in a traditional rowing fashion. You can change the resistance and rowing speed according to your fitness level and ability.
3. Apart from that, vigorous rowing is one of the most effective calorie burners, potentially burning more than 800 calories per hour.
4. Last but not least, rowing is excellent for strengthening arm, back, shoulder and abdomen muscles. Rowing machines are one of the few pieces of gym equipment that exercise many muscle groups. If you want to build and tone your muscles, simply set your rowing machine up for grater resistance.

10 rounds

5 box jumps

15 wall ball shots

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Shrimp, Sausage and Summer Squash Casserole

Two words in the seafood recipe submitted by Rachel Virden for thePrimal Blueprint Reader-Created Cookbook Contest caught our eye immediately: Summer and Squash.

Yes, we loved the combination of shrimp and sausage (who wouldn’t?) and the intensely savory flavor that only comes from sautéing with bacon fat. We were amazed by the way a few simple ingredients baked up into such a rich and satisfying dish. But what made us really happy was discovering a new, inventive way cook up summer’s seemingly endless bounty of squash.

If you have a garden, you know that varieties of summer squash are famously prolific. This time of year, farmers’ markets are also overflowing with zucchini, crookneck and pattypan squash. Just when you think you’ve prepared summer squash in every possible way, a recipe like Shrimp, Sausage and Summer Squash Casserole comes along that transforms a simple crookneck into a rich, flavorful meal.

As you begin cooking, the shrimp, sausage and squash seem like three separate ingredients in the pot. But when you spoon the trio into a pan and bake for 30 minutes, the three meld together into a voluptuous casserole with a buttery texture and rich, meaty flavor.

As much as we loved the shrimp in this recipe, we can imagine that other types of seafood, like salmon or halibut, could be substituted with equally delicious results. However you make it, Rachel’s casserole is a one-dish meal that will make you glad summer, along with its endless supply of squash, is not quite over yet.

Ingredients:

• 4-5 pounds yellow crookneck squash (or zucchini), sliced
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 6 slices bacon, chopped into pieces
• 1/2 pound Italian sausage (spicy or regular)
• 1 pound raw shrimp (peeled/deveined/tails off), chopped into bite-sized pieces
• 2 eggs
• Butter, if needed for sautéing
• Optional seasonings: salt, pepper, Cajun seasoning or hot sauce, Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

Preheat over to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cook the bacon and sausage together in a large soup pot or other deep pot. When fat begins to render, add the onion. Sauté until bacon is slightly crispy, sausage is crumbled and cooked and onion is soft.

Add the sliced squash (it may be easiest to add it in several batches) and stir to coat with meat and rendered fat. Turn the heat to high. This is necessary to quickly cook off any moisture the squash releases so that the squash can brown and caramelize, rather than “boil” in its own water. If the sausage and bacon have not rendered enough fat to cook the squash, then add some butter to the pot. The squash is done once it is slightly browned and there is no liquid sitting in the pot. By this time, the squash will have reduced by about half. Season with your choice of salt, pepper, Cajun seasoning and/or hot sauce.

Remove the pot from the stove and let it cool slightly.

Beat the eggs in a small bowl and pour over the squash mixture.

Add the raw shrimp and 1-2 handfuls of grated Parmesan cheese (optional).

Stir to combine all ingredients then pour into a casserole dish.

If you like, top the dish with a few pats of butter or a sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake until hot and bubbly, approx. 30 minutes.

(It is important to not cook the shrimp prior to baking the casserole. The shrimp will get overcooked and rubbery if you do.) Enjoy!

There seems to be a bit of confusion around the concepts of flexibility and mobility. So let’s begin with a couple of definitions. Flexibility is the ability to flex, extend, or circumduct a joint through its intended full range of motion. So we’re talking about the length of the tissues here, nothing more.

Mobility, or joint mobility, is the ability to move a joint through its full range of motion, with control. So mobility is based on active movement while flexibility involves static holds, and is dependent upon gravity or passive forces. Mobility also requires strength to produce full-range movement, whereas flexibility is passive, and does not require any strength.

Many individuals prepare for their training by performing routine stretches prior to their workout. And while stretching helps to improve static (non-moving) flexibility, it’s important to remember that it may not do such a good job at preparing your body to move quickly and efficiently. That’s why I recommend mobility exercises before the workout. Dynamic mobility exercises prepare your body for the vigorous movements that make up the more demanding part of the workout.

Joint mobility exercises work by circulating the synovial fluid in the bursa, which “washes” the joint. Since the joints have no direct blood supply, they are nourished by this synovial fluid, which simultaneously removes waste products. Joint salts, or calcium deposits, are also dissolved with the gentle, high-repetition movement patterns of the exercises.

When performed correctly, joint mobility exercises can restore complete freedom of movement to the ankles, knees, hips, shoulders, spine, neck, elbows, wrists and fingers. If there was ever such a thing as the fountain of youth, joint mobility exercises would have to be one of the best ways to achieve it!

So use mobility exercises as your warm-up and do flexibility work after the workout as part of the cool-down to restore tissue length and prevent long term injury. Static exercises help bring the body back to a state of rest and recovery and allow you to focus on relaxing and lengthening the muscles that you had put under stress while you were working out.

There are great videos starring Coach Kelly Starret, from San Francisco Crossfit, that will definitely improve your mobility which will greatly enhance performance. Go to www.mobilitywod.blogspot.com

You love the runner’s high, chiseled physique, steady energy, knock-outsleep, and that alluring post-workout glow. And, sure, there’s always the extraordinarycardiovascular benefit, cancer deterrent, anti-inflammatory impact, and age reversal effect. If that isn’t enough congratulations for your fitness endeavors, here’s more.Physical activity helps fortify your brain as well as your muscles. Yes, exercise goes to your head in dramatically healthy ways – throughout the course of a lifetime. Let’s examine.

Changing the Brain

Exercise supports the brain in a number of ways. Most obviously, exercise increases blood flow to the brain, which provides more oxygen and energy but also reduces free radical damage and enhances memory. Researchers also know that exercise stimulates the creation of new neurons and the production of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a chemical that is instrumental in neuron preservation and formation. And then there’s the impact ongene expression (always a favorite of mine). Exercise specifically promotes gene expression that supports plasticity, the brain’s crucial power to alter neural pathways.

A more recent study highlights exercise’s role in boosting the brain’s stem cell activity – essentially the ability to divide and differentiate throughout our lifetime. Research at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine shows that exercise moderates the activity of bone-morphogenetic protein (BMP), which reduces stem cell responsiveness in the brain. Within a weeks’ time, BMP levels were halved in lab mice that ran on a wheel, and an opposing protein called Noggin increased. As a result, the mice displayed remarkable adeptness in cognitive tests.

In addition to enhancing cognitive performance and stimulating ongoing brain growth, exercise also influences the chemical balance related to mood. Research has long connected physical activity with relief of depression and anxiety. Exercise not only stimulates the brain’s release of “feel good chemicals” like endorphins that induce calm and contentment but also supports the brain’s efficient use of dopamine by increasing the number of receptors and the time dopamine remains in the synapses (PDF).

When it comes to the “aging brain,” exercise rewrites the script on that notion. Physical activity can not only preserve brain function but can turn back the clock. As mentioned, exercise keeps the brain’s stem cells working efficiently over the course of a lifetime andpreserve brain tissue density. The difference shows. When researchers scanned the brains of fifty-five subjects (ages 55-79), those with the fittest profile (as measured by their maximal oxygen uptake) showed significant differences in the frontal, temporal, and parietal regions of the brain, areas related to learning and memory functions.

Researchers have also found that sustained exercise improves cognitive measures in older adults already experiencing mild memory loss.

Which Exercise?

So, what kind of exercise and how much are we talking here? Science is currently chasing that one down. A Taiwanese study compared mice that played on wheel at their own pace versus mice that were provoked to run at fast speeds. Although researchers found changes in the brains of both groups, the mice that got the more intense workout sported more numerous and more cognitively complex alterations. Their conclusion? Different exercise elicits different changes. Other research, however, suggests that more intense cardiovascular activity spurs more dramatic improvements in cognition and memory. And let’s not leave out resistance training. A recent Canadian study found that resistance training improved executive functioning measures related to attention and conflict resolution. Moderate levels of exercise appear to be effective, but any level – and amount – of activity leaves a positive impact.

When?

The evidence clearly shows, however, that exercise sharpens our mental acuity at any point in our lives. In children, of course, there are plenty of cognitive and behavioral benefits. Study after study (PDF) has demonstrated that physical activity boosts academic performance as well as cognitive related functioning itself in areas such as attention, planning, and organization. (Was there ever any question on that one?)

Most research, however, has focused on older adults who have either been active throughout their lives and those who take up exercise in their later years. The fact is, the more sustained exercise is over a lifetime, the better. Research suggests that a “cognitive reserve” exists in those who were active early in life. Every workout adds to the overall – and lasting – benefit. Finally, experts believe that the best impact comes from a potent synergy between exercise and good nutrition. Now where have I heard that one before?

Bear Your Cross:

21- 15-9 pullups

After 21 PU’s run with plate after 15 PU’s run with plate after 9 PU’s Lunge with bar then

complete 30 hang clean and jerks and end with Bar Lunge

Stone Age Adults Couldn’t Stomach Milk, Gene Study Shows

Milk wasn’t on the Stone Age menu, says a new study which suggests the vast majority of adult Europeans were lactose intolerant as recently as 7,000 years ago.

While cow’s milk is a mainstay in the diet of modern-day Europeans, their ancestors weren’t able to digest the nutritious dairy product after childhood, according to DNA analysis of human skeletons from the Neolithic period.

The study was led by Joachim Burger of the Institute of Archaeology at Mainz University in Germany.

The findings supports the idea that milk drinkers became widespread in Europe only after dairy farming had become established there—not the other way around.

Most mammals lose their ability to digest milk after being weaned, but some humans can continue to benefit from the calcium-rich, high-energy liquid.

This is because they carry a mutation that lets them continue producing lactase, the gut enzyme needed to break down the milk sugar lactose, in adulthood.

Lactose tolerance is most common in people of European origin, especially those from the northern and central areas of the continent. It is relatively rare in Asian and Native American populations.

Lactose Tolerance

High levels of lactose tolerance among these European groups are thought to reflect an evolutionary advantage. Early farming communities that could digest milk could consume the liquid during otherwise poor harvests, for instance.

Some scientists argue this adaptation was previously very rare in humans, spreading only after the introduction of farming to Europe.

Others say prehistoric populations were already split between those who could and couldn’t drink milk as adults. This split, the researchers say, determined which groups became dairy farmers.

Burger’s team analysed the DNA of well-preserved Stone Age skeletons from locations in northern and central Europe.

Bones dated to between 5800 and 5200 B.C. were tested for a genetic marker associated with the production of lactase.

The team says it found no trace of the lactase gene, indicating that people from the period weren’t yet able to drink milk.

The findings are reported today in the online early edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Natural Selection

The study suggests that the lactase gene spread rapidly in the human population only after dairy livestock were introduced to Europe about 8,000 years ago, Burger says. (Related: “Goats Key to Spread of Farming, Gene Study Suggests” [October 10, 2006].)

“I think it’s a very old mutation that was completely useless before farming started,” he said.

But then the gene suddenly became useful, and its presence in the population quickly grew through natural selection, Burger said.

“People who had cows, goats, or sheep and were lactose resistant had more children, and those children survived infant mortality and years of poor harvests,” he said.

The legacy of this evolutionary process is very apparent in the DNA of northern and central Europeans today, Burger notes.

In parts of Sweden, he says, 100 percent of people carry the lactase gene, whereas the average figure for the whole country is about 90 percent.

In Scandinavia, Holland, Britain, and Ireland, he added, “you can say most of the people are the descendents of dairy farmers.” (See a map of Europe.)

Milk tolerance also exists in southern and eastern European populations, while certain prehistoric farming communities in North Africa and the Middle East also developed the trait, scientists say.

But in other populations the lactase gene is largely absent. “All over the world most people can’t drink milk when they’re adults,” Burger said. “It’s only some populations in northern Africa and Europeans that can.”

A. Pick up any of the funny pages (bodybuilding and fitness magazines) and you will see article after article on this topic alone. “The Anabolic Window” is what I learned it as, years and years ago. But to understand this phenomenon, you need to understand a little about digestion. Or well maybe you don’t…but here goes anyway.

Without getting to high school science on you, think back to what you learned about your nervous system. Particualarly the Sympathetic aspect, or fight or flight mechanism. The Sympathetic Nervous system is “go time”. It helps regulate our bodies before and during our WODs. When we start to get amped up, and go into workout mode, our bodies fall into this particular state and become “ready”. There is no doubt CF WOD’s are stressful, hence the reason they produce results so well…remember-duration=deception, intensity=results.

A complimentary system is the Parasympathetic which essentially works when we are at rest. This is where digestion occurs…when resting, not stressed. As a side note, eating on the run in a hurried state may add to nutrient deficiency’s, heartburn, other GI issues, and a malady of other items simply because we don’t slow down to eat.

Many a study below shows athletes who, depending on the level of activity and duration, have some type of GI issue. In fact its estimated that at least 25% of endurance athletes have theses issues, and Im sure CFer’s who eat certain items too close to WODs due as well.

But to take a closer look one may find the athletes above were failing to pay attention to what nutrients they needed and where.

PRE-WOD:

You do not digest real food immediately upon eating it. So you can imagine real food close to a stressful WOD, when the body essentially shuts down its digestion anyway, isn’t going to lead to anything fun. Anywhere from heartburn, vomiting, and dysautonomia reactions could occur. Interesting the endurance athletes surveyed are the ones always trying to gauge that nutrition right up until the gun shot. Granted if your going for long bouts, you need to be pretty spot on and ready for the game, but nutrient absorption, and workout readiness starts post-WOD….not pre-WOD….think yesterday, the day before, the day before that. The more of those days that were good, the more proper fuel in the tank. You will not cheat an improper diet race day, so focus more on post-WOD nutrition.

Its not that you need neglect pre-WOD nutrition, but there are several studies that show even liquid supplements taken too close to workouts increase unwanted cortisol spikes as well as insulin responses, making it harder for the body to continue to burn fat during workouts, or use fat for fuel in general.

Toy around with this, but I would suggest not eating close to WODs. If your on a proper meal schedule, and consuming your proper calorie requirement thorugh the day, and scheduled the workout in the right spot, there should be plenty of gas in the tank. Again, toy with times and such, but proper POST-WOD nutrition equates to proper PRE-WOD nutrition.

POST-WOD:

Ask yourself, “When does my heart stop beating out of my chest?” Add about 10-15 minutes to that, and I would assume that is about as rested as you are through the whole day. This is a perfect time for a POST-WOD shake, contents and amounts differ for everybody depending on size and goals. But at the very least, your shake must have protein in it.

I would imagine this shake to be around 20-30 minutes POST-WOD. After about another 45 minutes to an hour, one should be able to easily eat a real food meal and feel no ill effects.

However, the cool thing about the body is, if you do end up pissing it off, it will show you. Especially when dealing with digestion. If you ate too soon heartburn may set in, quickstepping to the bathroom, nausea or any number of GI ailments to boot. So test it. If you attain any of these symptoms PRE, or POST-WOD look at meal times. Too soon, too late, too close, too much. All these factors play a role when it comes to nutrient digestion around WOD time.

So, to summerize, eating soon before your WOD may very well be doing you wrong, even if your void of symptoms. From poor energy transfer, to nutrient deficiencies and other GI issues, its most likely not a good idea (unless were going with multiple WOD recovery which is a whole other animal for another day). The best PRE-WOD meal, is yesterdays POST-WOD meal. Stop playing catch-up, and stay on schedule eating for your particular goals. The “Anabolic Window” is yours to break….