Nutrition for performance – a short introduction
“Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch, no sugar. Keep intake to levels that will support exercise, but not body fat.”
-Greg Glassman, founder of CrossFit.
These are the first 2 sentences of Glassman’s “World Class fitness in 100 words” because diet is of primary importance to fitness. Still working on that first pull up, muscle-up, handstand push up? Want to improve your performance on one of the benchmark workouts like “Fran” or “Cindy”? Take a look at what you eat…How you fuel your body will effect your performance more than any other single factor.
At Thames CrossFit, we encourage you to try Greg’s recommendations, which are a elegant summary of the “Paleo diet”. The Paleo diet is based on a book by Loren Cordain which recommends that we eat whole, natural foods similar to what our hunter-gatherer ancesters ate. These foods are high in the beneficial nutrients (soluble fiber, antioxidant vitamins, phytochemicals, omega-3 and monounsaturated fats, and low-glycemic carbohydrates) that promote fat loss, lean muscle gain, healthy skin, and good overall health. It is low in the damaging foods (refined sugars and grains, trans-fats, salt, high-glycemic carbohydrates, and processed foods) that can cause fat gain, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and numerous other health problems. The Paleo diet focuses on the quality of your food, which allows you the freedom to eat to satiety.
We acknowledge that everyone is different and will have personal nutritional needs. One size does not fit all in terms of nutrition. However, if you’re seeking optimum health and performance, you owe it to yourself to give this a try for 30 days to see if it changes the way you look, feel and perform.
Here’s how to start.
Step 1 – Try it for 30 days starting today, right now! The recommendations in Whole9 site are all you need to get started.
Step 2 – Within the first 3 days, take a baseline measure of your performance. We suggest our baseline workout (500m row, 40 squats, 30 sit ups, 20 push ups, 10 pull ups for time). Also measure any other stats you’re interested in (weight, waist size, energy levels).
Step 3 – Clear your kitchen of any non-paleo foods. It’s a lot easier if you limit temptations. Unsure of what to eat, take a look at this info from the Whole9 website
Step 4 – Learn more about the paleo diet by exploring the additional resources (below)
Step 5 – Get through the entire 30 days! Not 21, not 28, not 30 with a couple of cheat meals. Be honest, strict and intentional and try this for the entire 30.
Step 6 – Perform your baseline workout again and retake your measurements.
Step 7 – If you’ve made it this far, you’ve no doubt changed your life and have noticed major differences. Most importantly, you’ve made this a habit that you can sustain for the long term. As we said, this isn’t one size fits all. Determine what worked and what didn’t work and make a part of your day to day life. Use the resources below, do your own independent research, and ask your trainers if you need further advice.
Other Resources
Whole9 – An excellent resource for those doing a paleo challenge (30 or more days of strict paleo). Written in clear, non technical language, this is one of the best resources for getting started.
The Paleo Diet – Homepage of Loren Cordain, author of “The Paleo diet”, contains an excellent FAQ to get you started but also lots of peer-reviewed literature for those of you who want to dig a little bit deeper in to the topic.
Robb Wolf’s Blog – Author of “The Paleolithic Solution”, Robb is one of the web’s best sources of updated knowledge and FAQ for the paleo diet as it relates to CrossFit and performance. He opened one of the original CrossFit affiliates, and does nutrition seminars throughout the world. He also has an excellent podcast answering listener questions about the Paleo diet.
Marks Daily Apple – A fantastic resource for anything primal, be sure to check out the getting started section
PaNu – Paleolithic nutrition blogger Kurt G Harris (MD) on how to get started on paleolithic eating
Everyday Paleo – A blog on how to manage to keep your whole family eating paleo by Sarah Fragoso, a mother of three
Nutrition Lectures – a collection of nutrition lectures on various topics.
The Foodee Project - A great paleo recipe website, it even compiles a weekly shopping list for you!
PALEOdish - Another great recipe website, everything from snacks to appetisers.
Paleo-Hacks - New to paleo? or just looking for some advice?..Paleo-hacks is a treasure trove of questions and answers posted by those interested in their nutrition. Sign up to ask you own question, or pass on your knowledge to somebody else.
Looking to expand your knowledge on all things nutrition, take a look at these great books:
The Paleo Solution – Robb Wolf
Good Calories, Bad Calories – Gary Taubes
Why we get fat – Gary Taubes
Lights out: Sleep, Sugar & Survival - TS Wiley
There are also a great variety of podcasts available that provide the latest goings on in the paleo community as well as discussing the latest research and training and nutrition news. Just subscribe via iTunes or follow the links below:
Ask us! If you would like some advice, meal ideas, etc. we’re more than happy to help.
