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Is There Really a “Window” for Nutrition?

There are many nutrition myths out there, but that of the anabolic window has probably caused the most feuds. The truth is this: There is no right or wrong answer.

You have probably heard that chugging a protein shake within an hour or so after strength training is necessary to maximize your gains. While some feel very strongly about the importance of this practice, others think of it as biased information from supplement companies looking to increase their revenue.

Studies conducted by the National Center for Biochemistry Information found that “despite the common recommendation to consume protein as soon as possible post-exercise, evidence-based support for this practice is currently lacking.” An article published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition found for most people, food, and protein consumption mattered more throughout the day than in the hour after a workout.

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In contrast, data published in “Nutrient Timing: The Future of Sports Nutrition” by Drs. John Ivy and Robert Portman in the early 2000s affirmed nutrient timing is a must-do practice when trying to gain muscle.

Taking both sides into consideration, here are the main points you should know about what and when to eat around your workout.

3 Factors in Nutrition Timing

1. For most people, it is the daily total protein intake that matters the most for growing those muscles.

The majority of research shows for most people in most occasions, there is no urgency to eat immediately after a workout. It’s not just about immediate protein consumption for most athletes — there is a bigger picture to consider. Research shows if you are trying to maximize your performance in the gym, it’s more important to focus on getting enough protein and calories throughout the whole day, in addition to focusing on getting enough rest, rather than looking at a single eating occasion.

While eating directly after a workout may have short-term effects, data show the latter method promotes better overall muscle growth and recovery in the long term.

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Athletes who do one class a few times a week should be particularly cautious. Data show for those who partake in a typical exercise lasting 30 to 60 minutes, there is generally no need to refuel because the body has not burned enough calories yet to warrant it.

2. Nutrient timing is important if you are working out again later.

While most athletes do not need to consider meal timing or anabolic windows, consuming carbohydrates after exercise may help endurance athletes if they have another training session later in the day.

The body needs to replenish lost nutrients before yet another calorie deficit so the muscles can recover faster. After a workout, an immediate supply of carbohydrates helps maximize glycogen stores, which can improve performance and recovery.

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Again, this is only really relevant if you are training several times a day or have multiple athletic events in a day. So when participating in a competition, drink your shake after each WOD. If you want to mix it up or don’t like protein shakes, try chocolate milk. Research has suggested chocolate milk is a good recovery drink for endurance sports athletes because of its ideal carbohydrate-to-protein ratio of 4:1.

3. Nutrient planning is effective if you are training in a state of fasting.

Listen up, early-morning WODers — those who you are training in a state of fasting, wherein you have not had anything overnight. Research has found you are more likely to have muscle breakdown and need more recovery time than other athletes and you need to eat in order to switch your net catabolic state into an anabolic one. Ideally, you won’t just stick to protein shakes to do this. The best results are seen when athletes consume protein and carbohydrates together immediately after a workout.

So, do you really need to worry about the infamous window? The answer: It depends. But for the average gym-goer, your first goal should simply be to eat enough, and to eat enough of the right things.

Baby steps.

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Amanda Barnhart Shares Important Message About Nutrition

Nutrition can be a real challenge for so many of us. Food is fuel, but it’s also mental and emotional. For women especially, there’s this temptation to restrict calories in order to look a certain way. Amanda Barnhart is here to remind us that our bodies want calories. Check out her inspiring (and incredibly helpful) message below.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CB3O3bHhfmN/

Main image: Amanda Barnhart/Instagram

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6 Tips From a Nutrition Coach for Staying Healthy During Quarantine

With isolation being fully enforced, businesses closed down, and grocery stores not always stocked, healthy food has taken a backseat for may of us during the coronavirus quarantine. We spoke with Vanessa Cohn, Macrostax Customer Success Manager and nutrition coach, to get a few pointers for how we can all stay on top of our nutrition even during these challenging times.

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TWL x Macrostax: 6 Tips for Nutrition Success

1.) What’s the biggest change athletes should make to reflect a significantly toned down fitness program? (Reduce their carbs? Reduce overall calories?)

Working out at home means limited access to certain equipment, but it doesn’t necessarily mean less intensity! There are still some creative ways you can get moving and keep your heart rate up to stay fit.

If your overall daily activity (including what you were doing the rest of the day outside of your intentional workouts) is significantly less than what you are used to, you may want to consider adjusting your overall caloric intake. Start with a small deficit first and keep track of your weight, measurements, and photos, looking at your weekly trend instead of the day-to-day.

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Based on how you do, you can make small adjustments from there. Macrostax also makes this easy by allowing you to adjust your activity level settings, which will automatically create a new set of custom macros for you in the app.

2.) How can people adjust their nutrition while quarantined at home?

Luckily, if you were making many of your meals from home, not much has to change! Meal prepping is still a good practice to follow while quarantined, because it provides structure to your week. If you have limited access to food or previously relied on other sources, you could try meal delivery services, take-out from local restaurants, or online grocery ordering!

3.) Why should people continue tracking macros while quarantined?

Nutrition is something you always have control over! In fact, if you are able to go to your grocery store, nutrition might be something that is easier for some people to dial in during this time since we’re not going out as often, making it slightly easier to stick to your macros.

Eating a balanced diet instead of junk food, and sticking to structured meal times instead of mindless snacking, will go a long way in helping us feel like we are still on the right track. The current situation is definitely stressful and unusual for all of us, but trying to maintain some semblance of routine will be the best for our health, both physically and mentally.

4.) Is strength loss/weight gain inevitable?

Not necessarily! If you are on a weight loss plan, there are definitely some adjustments you can make in your diet to ensure you stay on track, like reducing some of your calories. When you go back to your normal routine post-quarantine, bigger weights will probably feel a little heavier than usual, but that’s to be expected! It’s only a few weeks of stay-at-home, so your strength will return within a couple of weeks after getting back into the swing of things.


If you’ve made the effort to keep up with daily activity and a balanced diet, you shouldn’t be too far off track.

5.) How can a tool like Macrostax help right now?

If you aren’t yet familiar with Macrostax, we tell you what, when, and how much to eat to reach your goals. We’re a one-stop-shop web app that gives you a custom macro plan, access to a nutrition coach seven days a week, and macro-friendly recipes tailored to you.

Macrostax has always been the go-to app for the CrossFit community looking to keep track of their macros. And nothing has changed during this time. Our app still helps keep you accountable with your nutrition, regardless of if you’re on a fat loss, maintenance, or muscle gain plan.

We preach what we offer, as well. Our nutrition coaches are feeling the same pain that many others are feeling right now during quarantine, and are offering free consults as well as daily tips in the app for overall health, nutrition, and fitness.


You can check us out online and message in our chat feature if you have any questions!

6.) Any tips for how people can hit their numbers even if they’re having a hard time finding the food they need (since some grocery stores aren’t fully stocked)?

Since we are limiting our trips to the grocery store, fresh produce and perishable food items can be harder to come by. When you are able to buy these items, we recommend prepping them as soon as you can into freezer-friendly meals that will allow them to keep for as long as you need.

If you are having trouble finding lean proteins like egg whites, chicken breast, or turkey breast, we recommend looking for tuna packets, beef jerky, deli meat, protein bars, and protein powders.


Potatoes, rice, quinoa, dried oats, granola, pasta, and canned goods like beans are great options to keep in your pantry because of their long shelf life. Just remember to take only what you need for you and your family!

Try out some of our favorite make-ahead recipes from our app:

  • Instant Pot Turkey Chili
  • Turkey Lasagna
  • Sweet Potato Hash with Bacon and Eggs
  • PB&J Overnight Oats
  • 3 Minute Mug Omelet
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Ask Coach Rose: Advice for Staying Motivated and On Track

You’re stuck at home and possibly trying to maintain your health and fitness with limited resources. Your motivation dwindles. What do you do? We caught up with Rose Peterson, CPT, Pn2, to learn more about how we can get through this pandemic under such uncomfortable circumstances.

The WOD Life: Can you start by telling us a little bit about who you are and what you do?

Coach Rose: I empower overwhelmed moms to shed the weight that’s holding them back from cultivating the life they have always dreamed of. I’m a Certified Online Trainer, nutrition and lifestyle coach. I’ve served my clients both in person in a traditional gym setting and virtually, all over the United States and in the Philippines.

With the recent stay-at-home order, I’ve shifted my coaching to entirely online. At this moment, I feel even more called to help my clients choose and practice skills and habits they want to focus on to maintain their current health goals.

TWL: What’s your best piece of advice for how we can stay healthy right now, even while quarantined?

CR: My number one tip for people to try to stay active is get clear on the exercise goal. Know your why.  Is your main goal to incorporate more movement in your day, not to lose muscle mass, maintain your fitness habits, or perhaps focus on recovery or stability movements?

My clients (and myself) are all processing their exercise goals from different perspectives.  Some are working from home and are sitting for long periods of time. Some are struggling to find the motivation to keep going on their own since they’re not around the same energy being at a gym, gym mates, or a coach would bring.

Some are taking this time to work on injuries that they’ve ignored or slowing down to master bodyweight movements like scoring that bodyweight pull-up or string together five to 10 strict push-ups.

After you get clear on your main fitness goal, then set up a plan that is super easy, super simple to implement, and set the bar really low in the beginning. These super easy routines (we are talking maybe one to two chin-ups, three set of air squats, or five minutes of pacing to a podcast) get your brain fired up with some small and actionable wins. It builds momentum and helps you maintain the habit of working out from home. Those tiny wins rewire your brain to get out of the comfort hurdle.

One idea I’ve helped my clients come up with is setting a stretch reminder on their phone or smart watch every hour. They let the alert remind them to get up and move for just five minutes only. It could also be for taking some steps around the house, or using a band placed next to their desk to open up their shoulders and back from sitting so long.

For others I have talked to, they have set goals of 10 focused and slow push-ups or one to three pull-ups from a doorway bar. Once you give yourself a week or two of success, there will be less internal resistance to accomplish more challenging or longer workouts.

My second piece of advice is for more advanced clients. There are many creative ways to make a workout challenging by using bands or filling backpacks and large purses with weighted objects. This is also a really good time to focus on stability, mobility, and perfect execution of bodyweight exercises.

Exercising with kids can be challenging, especially if they’re very young and just want to be around you. To avoid frustration, make the workouts simple and quick, around 20 minutes at a time, or even include them. It’s important for kids to be active and if they aren’t in school, they are likely moving less as well.

Toddlers love to be carried or held during squats, or give them a toy pretending to be a dumbbell and work out alongside them. Pre-schoolers and elementary aged children will likely only participate for five minutes before they move on to something else. Older children could benefit from just being active alongside you.

coach rose headshot

TWL: How can people find that motivation to exercise when they’re really just not feeling it?

CR: In my coaching practice, I not only provide nutrition recommendations and exercise programming, but I’m also their guide to help them execute the desired behaviors or habits they want to implement in their daily lives to make sure they’re set up for success. All of my clients get a weekly coaching call from me.

One common theme that has been coming up a lot in my coaching calls is struggling to find motivation. Motivation is not always there, and during a time like now, relying on developing good habits is so powerful.

We are lucky enough right now that in this country, most of my clients still have access to foods that line up with their goals. Having a good exercise program for at home is not out of their reach either.

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However, they’re finding themselves making food choices that don’t line up with their goals or they’re struggling to find motivation to complete a workout.

These are totally normal feelings, especially when dealing with the uncertainty of the current pandemic.

Here’s one suggestion.

Destination Postcard

When a client first hires me, an exercise I do with her is called a Destination Postcard. I originally learned of these three powerful questions through Precision Nutrition’s Nutrition Coaching certification. If you have ever said to yourself or to someone else, “I know what I should do, but I don’t know why I am not doing it,” these three questions below can help you find the motivation you need to get back on track.

  • Who do you want to be?
  • What do you want to do?
  • How do you want to feel?

On a recent coaching call, I reminded one of my clients that she had written that she wanted to be the best version of herself, feel strong and energetic so that she can accomplish a lifelong goal of hiking the Grand Canyon rim to rim.

She perked up in the conversation after I reminded her of this. I told her to imagine she is already the person that is strong and energetic enough to hike the Grand Canyon. I asked her, “What would that person do in their day-to-day habits to make sure they can hike the Grand Canyon rim to rim?” She listed out some habits and I helped her narrow it down to the one she could be most successful with right now to help her gain some momentum and get back on track.

She also decided to take my suggestion of printing out a picture or two of the Grand Canyon and placing it somewhere she can see it often. I shared with her that this is exactly what I have done to remind myself of what it is I really want. I want to compete in my sport again and I have a picture in my bedroom and one on my refrigerator of me at my last competition.

By the end of the call, she sounded inspired and reinvigorated to work toward her health goals.

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Many thanks to Coach Rose for providing guidance and insight during such a challenging time. For more help, you can follow Coach Rose on Instagram. Keep your eyes peeled for a free virtual day-long nutrition challenge for busy moms, tentatively set for May 2.

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Sammy Moniz Gives All the Nutrition Inspiration You Need Right Now

Coronavirus has forced most of us to get creative with our nutrition. Grocery store shelves have been a little bare, leaving us needing to think outside the box. Sammy Moniz, the brains behind Feeding the Frasers, is simultaneously making us drool and also giving us plenty of ideas for delicious, nutritious, filling meals during quarantine and isolation.

Sammy offers an important reminder: Recipes are guidelines. Tweak and adjust them based on your own tastes and preferences, as well as what you have available to you. The point is this. Simple ingredients can come together to form one heck of a meal.

This one uses instant ramen noodles!

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This one uses just three main ingredients: carrots, potatoes, and meat.

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What have you been cooking for yourself and your family lately? Stay healthy, friends.

Main image: Sammy Moniz/Instagram

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The Top 6 Supplements for Functional Fitness

A common question we get asked at The WOD Life is, “What supplements should I be taking for functional fitness?” With so many supplements out there, it’s often hard to work your way through all of the scientific explanations and globo gym sales talk to determine if a particular supplement is suitable for you and your goals.

We must emphasize the first step to dialing in your supplementation is ensuring your nutrition is on point. Real food provides the best source of vitamins, minerals, and energy to succeed as an athlete. It’s important that you get comfortable with your diet.

Once you have your nutrition under control, there are a few supplements that can assist your performance as a functional fitness athlete, help you build strength, recover quickly, and improve your overall wellbeing. Here are our top six supplements for functional fitness.

Top 6 Supplements for Functional Fitness

1. Omega 3 Fish Oil

Omega 3 fats are one of the most popular supplements for athletes, often in the form of a fish oil supplement. The benefits of omega 3s are many, including:

  • Improved brain health.
  • Powerful anti-inflammatory properties.
  • Exercise recovery.
  • Muscle protein synthesis.
  • Potentially positive effects on fat loss.

Tips: Be careful about the fish oil you are supplementing with as not all fish oils are the same. Ensure that you choose a supplement that uses purification systems to remove heavy metals and toxins.

Recommendation: Puori O3

fish oil supplement

2. Whey Protein

When any athlete thinks of supplements, whey protein is often the first that comes to mind. A staple in every athlete’s gym bag should be a high-quality whey protein. Designed to digest quickly and aid muscle recovery, whey protein taken within 10 minutes of training reduces the amount of stress hormones and cortisol that is released. Approximately 20-30g of protein help repair your tissue and reduce muscle soreness post workout.

Tip: Match your whey protein to your requirements. For post workout, look for a mix of carbohydrates and whey protein to help you refuel your energy and restore your muscles. Remember, only 20-30g of protein at a time!

Recommendation: Origen

whey protein

3. Magnesium

Magnesium is a key supplement for the athlete, although often overlooked. It’s the one mineral the athlete is likely deficient in which could improve with supplementation. Magnesium is key as it helps regulate your heart, manages the contraction and relaxation of your muscles, reduces blood pressure, and plays an important role in the production of ATP, the main source of energy.

Tip: Avoid cheap forms of magnesium that are not as well absorbed by your body. Ideally, take magnesium post-workout on an empty stomach or before bed to aid your recovery process.

Recommendation: Mglife Organic Magnesium Oil

mg life organic magnesium oil

4. Vitamin D

With our lifestyles working in offices or indoors, we do not receive sufficient sunlight to produce the required levels of vitamin D. Overall, vitamin D is a key component to reduce inflammation, improve your mood, and better your respiratory health. We all know that as athletes, we could definitely benefit from those factors to improve our lifts and WOD times. Vitamin D also helps us sleep better, as it allows the brain to release melatonin, letting us know it’s time to rest after a big day.

Tip: Take vitamin D at night, approximately an hour before bedtime.

Recommendation: Puori D3

vitamin d supplement

5. Creatine

Creatine is one of the most scientifically proven supplements available. Naturally produced in your body, creatine is often found in meat such as beef. Research studies have shown that additional supplementation with several grams of creatine supports strength, power, and explosiveness in athletes and helps to develop lean body mass.

If you are strength training or looking to build muscle, creatine taken immediately before and/or after training with an energy source such as carbohydrates is proven to improve your maximal strength, muscular endurance, and increase your anaerobic power.

Tip: Look for a creatine that doesn’t require a loading phase. Aim to also cycle on and off creatine, as required.

Recommendation: Creatine HCL Pure

creatine supplement HCL Pure

6. Beta-Alanine

Beta-alanine is an amino acid that supercharges your muscle tissue, applying more energy to your workout. Another important role of beta-alanine for the athlete is that it assists to delay the rise of lactic acid in your muscles, therefore preventing soreness mid-workout and allowing you to push harder for longer.

Tip: Beta-alanine is to be taken pre-workout only. Test with low doses first below the recommend dosage for personal tolerance levels.

Recommendation: ATP Science Infrared

atp science infrared

So there it is! A quick guide to the top six supplements for your training and competitions. Remember that these are just supplements. It’s important you dial in your nutrition first, and then you can get the most out of your performance with these complementary supplements.

Check out The WOD Life’s great range of supplements, curated specifically for the functional fitness athlete and weightlifter.

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7 Beginner Nutrition Tips for Building Muscle

So you just started training and you’re looking to build some muscle. There’s a lot more than what meets the eye when it comes to putting on some pounds (the good kind that makes you stronger, of course). It may come as a surprise that the key to muscle gain is not just hitting intense sessions every single day at the gym but also what kind of food you’ve got on your plate.

As a beginner, just about any weightlifting program will yield results — that is, if and only if you are fueling properly. It’s essential to make sure that your nutrition is on point. Follow these nutrition tips to build muscle and make some major strength gains.

7 Simple Nutrition Tips for Building Muscle

1. Eat More Protein

Chances are you’re not getting enough protein in your diet. While the exact amount you should aim to consume will vary depending on your current mass and your specific goals, there’s a long-accepted rule of thumb. You should eat one gram of protein per pound of lean body mass. So, a 175-pound (79.5 kg) human should aim for about 175 grams of protein each day.

Good sources of protein include:

  • Lean meat — chicken, ground turkey, and fish.
  • Dark meat (in moderation).
  • Egg whites.
  • Whey protein.
  • Low-sugar Greek yogurt.
  • Lentils.

2. Make Carbs Your Friend

If you want to put on muscle, you’re going to have to get over your fear of carbohydrates. Carbs fuel your body to do work, and they also replenish your muscles so that they can heal and grow. It’s important to eat carbs both pre- and post-workout.

Healthy carbs you can include in your diet are:

  • Quinoa.
  • Rice.
  • Sweet potatoes.
  • Oats.
  • Fruit.
  • Beans.

3. Choose Clean Food Over Processed Junk

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Processed foods are full of fat (the bad kind) and sugar, not to mention unnatural and unhealthy ingredients your body doesn’t want or need. While we’ll always tell you to enjoy the food you like in moderation, also remember that processed food isn’t going to nourish you in the best way. Aim to eat clean, whole, real food if you want to have a one-way ticket to mean and lean. Remember to eat for fuel.

4. Nourish Yourself With Enough Calories

Calorie-restricting diets are so out. True, if you’re trying to lose body fat, a decrease in calories might very well be in order. But if you’re trying to add mass — which is what’s happening when you’re trying to build muscle — you’re going to need to add calories.

While tracking your calories (which is all the rage with flexible dieting) can certainly help, don’t get hung up on the number, because chances are you’re going to need to eat more than you think you do.

5. Drink Water — Lots of It

We could give you the complicated version of this one, but all that you really need to know for now is that it’s essential to stay hydrated if you want to build muscle. Dehydration leads to a decrease in performance. In order to gain (and maintain) strength and muscle, you must drink enough water each day.

6. Supplement as Needed

You should always have a goal of getting the nutrients and minerals you need from nutritious whole foods. However, because of today’s farming, soil quality, and food manufacturing, this isn’t always possible. This is when it’s okay to fill the gaps with quality supplements.

For instance, you might consider a protein shake after training, or perhaps you take a vitamin D supplement since so many of us are deficient.

7. Tweak Your Macronutrients

There are three macronutrients (AKA macros):

  1. Protein.
  2. Carbs.
  3. Fat.

We already talked about protein, and you know you need carbs, but there’s one more factor to consider.

On training days, you’ll want to eat more carbs and less fat.

On rest days, it’s going to look more like the opposite.

Why? Simple. When you train, your muscles are depleted of sugar, and you need to eat more carbs to replenish them. On rest days, when your muscles don’t go through that stress, you need fewer carbs, so your fat goes up instead.

You still need the calories — just a different kind of calories.

When it comes to your fitness journey, there are two crucial elements: training and nutrition. You need both in order to make gains and hit your goals. Find foods you love and remember that food is your friend! Go have a snack.

You know what else is crucial when it comes to building muscle? Recovery. Check out our blog post on basic recovery tips for beginners.

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The Top 4 Supplements for Recovery

There are some nonnegotiables in life: Memorial Day is for Murph, black leggings (or slacks) are a closet staple, and your first piece of self-owned gym equipment should be a jump rope. Another? Recovery is paramount — that is how your muscles repair and grow back stronger, after all.

If you have ever dipped a toe (or lifter-clad foot) into the vast world of sports supplements, you know there is a ton to choose from. Although supplementation can be a useful tool for meeting your recovery, performance, and nutrition goals, it is not always clear which supps are legit and which ones are a waste of green (and time).

The reason for this? Supplements are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, which means there isn’t third-party testing for safety or efficacy. That means doing some research on your own ahead of time to figure out which brands and ingredients work best is essential. But do feel like you need an advanced degree in nutrition or sports and exercise studies just to figure out which capsules and powders to take after your date with the weight rack?

To save you the hassle and headache, we’ve rounded up four of the best science-backed ingredients for recovery. And if you want to see even more, be sure to check out our full range of supplements.

Top 4 Supplements for Recovery

1. Creatine

ATP Science creatine

Creatine monohydrate, or just “creatine,” is popular both as a single-ingredient powder and as an ingredient in pre- and post-workout formulas. However, the buzz among lifters that creatine directly makes your muscles huge is false.

Creatine, though, does allow training at a higher intensity, and if you are training at a higher intensity, it can lead to muscle increase. In fact, one study published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise found men who supplemented with creatine made more strength and muscle mass gains after 12 weeks of strength training than those who did not. A second study published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition found those who supplemented with creatine also recovered from strength training significantly faster.

Need a recommendation? Check out our full selection of creatine.

2. L-Glutamine

glutamine

L-glutamine is an amino acid (the building blocks of protein) that plays a major role in helping your muscles repair after a hard workout. One study published in the Journal of Exercise Science & Fitness reported supplementing with L-glutamine after strength-based exercise significantly reduced delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) compared to the placebo group.

You will find L-glutamine in most protein powders, but it can also be taken by itself in powder, pill, or liquid form (which are all basically tasteless). View our complete selection of protein powders.

3. Branched-Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs)

Intra Flight BCAA

What if there is a magic formula that could help you recover from your workouts faster? Well, that’s basically what BCAAs (made up of three amino acids: leucine, isoleucine, and valine) do. During exercise, when our glycogen stores are low, our bodies rely on leucine, isoleucine, and valine for fuel; so, post-exercise, we need to restore those used amino acids. One study published in The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness found BCAA supplementation may reduce muscle damage, and a second study published in the Journal of Exercise Nutrition & Biochemistry found it may help you handle back-to-back toughie sessions better.

If you are headed to the gym for a 30-minute jog on the treadmill, you can probably skip them. But if you are about to strength or interval train, it might be worth trying BPN.

4. Beta-Alanine

Core Nutritionals ABC

Beta-alanine is another supplement that has solid science behind it. It’s an amino acid our body produces and uses to form a compound called carnosine, which is a fatigue-fighting compound. In normal conditions, beta-alanine is low in the blood, but supplementation can increase it in the blood and therefore increase the amount of fatigue-fighting carnosine. One review published in the journal Amino Acids found supplementing with beta-alanine can improve performance on high-intensity exercises that last between one and four minutes (Fran, anyone?).

The benefits of taking beta-alanine may take up to two to four weeks to show, so if you try a beta-alanine formula, make sure you give the powder enough time to work.

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Aside from supplements, what else can you be consuming to help encourage better recovery?

Water

Sure, you guzzle a bottle of pre-workout after remembering you haven’t had enough H20 during the day, and you take a sip or two of the clear stuff mid-WOD. However, the hydrating can’t stop just because you’re done sweating. Replenishing the fluids you lost while sweating as soon as you can is just as important as hydrating ahead of time, because if you don’t hydrate properly, you risk significantly exacerbated symptoms of DOMS, according to a study published in the Journal of Athletic Training.

How much water you need after exercising depends on many factors, such as the length and intensity of the exercise, the environmental conditions, and your individual make-up. To get really specific on how much water you need after a workout, start by weighing yourself before and after exercise. After your workout, drink 16 ounces of fluid for every pound you have lost. Or simply use your pee color as a general guideline for your overall hydration status: the paler, the better.

Coffee

What can we say about a cup of joe that has not been said about the OG (legal) performance-enhancing substance? Apart from making your mornings (and okay, afternoons!) easier, caffeine can reduce subsequent muscle soreness and pain (which is why it is sometimes an ingredient in over-the-counter pain relief meds).

One study published in the Journal of Pain showed exercisers saw a 48% drop in DOMS when they drank coffee. It’s also worth mentioning one study published in PLoS ONE found coffee hydrates, as well as water, which as we mentioned is important to keep in mind when trying to ward off muscle pain.

Tart Cherry Juice

Tart cherries have the highest anti-inflammatory content (due to their antioxidant compounds called anthocyanins) out of any food, which is why adding cherries (or the juice) to your Greek yogurt or oatmeal or post-workout smoothie can give your body a boost.

In fact, research published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports found marathoners who consumed 11 ounces of tart cherry juice five days before, on the day of, and 48 hours following their races experienced less muscle soreness. Working one cup of tart cherries or one serving of unsweetened 100% cherry juice (8 ounces) into your post-workout snack or meal may support recovery.

Ginger

You add it to your sushi, you add it to your smoothies, and now it’s time to add it to your post-workout stack. One study published in Phytotherapy Research found consuming ground ginger root or nibbling on the root itself can help decrease DOMS by up to 25%. The researchers hypothesized this is likely due to the pain-relieving phytochemicals it contains, such as gingerol, shogaol, and zingerone.

A second study published in The International Journal of Preventive Medicine backed up the hypothesis after finding gingerol may reduce inflammation.

We have everything you need to recover. Shop with The WOD Life today.

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Nutrition for Newbies: The Supplements You Need to Know

You know what they say: abs are made in the kitchen. More specifically, they really mean, “Fitness is made in the kitchen.” True, you can’t get fitter without the gym, but if optimized nutrition isn’t part of your fitness plan, don’t expect major gains. Proper nutrition and supplementation are paramount to your overall health. There are a lot of great supplements out there that can offer significant benefits, but here are three in particular we wanted to point out to you.

The Top 3 Supplements for Beginners

1. Protein

When you get to the gym, you’ll undoubtedly see other athletes walking around with a water bottle in their hand, quickly downing their post-WOD protein shake. There’s a reason so many of us think this supplement reigns supreme: protein is vital to recovery, muscle growth, and fat loss.

Protein powder is a quick and easy way to get this much-needed macronutrient in your system. And don’t forget you’re not limited to drinking it. There are all sorts of recipes that use protein powder, like these chocolate peanut butter protein balls.

We love: Origen Whey Protein

high protein snack
2. Vitamin D

Many (if not most) of us are deficient in vitamin D, and we don’t even know it. Vitamin D plays an important role in reducing inflammation, improving your mood, and helping you maintain better respiratory health. Plus, because it encourages the brain to release melatonin, it helps us sleep better. You probably know sleep is vital to recovery, and recovery is vital to gains.

We love: Puori Vitamin D3

vitamin d supplement from puori

3. BCAAs

If you could wave a magic wand and speed up your recovery, would you? Of course. Try taking branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), which are the next best thing. BCAAs work to restore the amino acids leucine, isoleucine, and valine, which our bodies use for energy during training. Research has found this supplement might reduce muscle damage and even help you handle back-to-back sessions better.

We love: Optimum Nutrition Pro BCAA

BCAAs for recovery

An Important Reminder

Smart supplementation is a good move and, in the case of athletes, usually necessary. However, we want to give you an important reminder: supplements are not a replacement for quality nutrition. You should still aim to get a lot of your protein from wholesome, nutritious sources like chicken and fish. Supplementing for recovery is great, but don’t forget to prioritize rest days, mobility, and sleep.

A supplement, by definition, completes or enhances something when added to it. It’s not a replacement!

Pay close attention to your supplementation and nutrition, and we know you’ll see amazing progress in the gym.

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Camille Leblanc-Bazinet’s Top 3 Nutrition Tips

There’s a good reason for the saying “abs are made in the kitchen,” and it’s because nutrition is as important to your overall fitness and health as your time in the gym is. You’ve probably heard that you can’t out-exercise a bad diet, and it’s true. If your meals aren’t on point, you will only get so far from training alone.

If anyone knows about this, it’s Camile Leblanc-Bazinet. She recently took to Instagram to share the three most valuable things she’s learned about nutrition.

  1. Focus on macros first.
  2. Eat real food.
  3. What you eat is as important as what you don’t eat.

Read her full message below.

What’s your best piece of nutritional advice?

Main image: Camille Leblanc-Bazinet/Instagram

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Why You’re Having a Hard Time Leaning Out

Working out has a long list of benefits, one of the most popular being fat loss. Chances are if you’re committed to hitting the gym, you probably have a goal of leaning out (because who doesn’t want to look good naked?). But it takes more than just an hour at the gym to get the body you want. If you’ve been following a workout routine religiously but still aren’t seeing any body composition change, read below to find out why you are probably having a hard time leaning out.

3 Reasons You’re Not Leaning Out

Training

To burn fat and get lean, you need to not only be training but doing the right kind of training. If you consider yourself a cardio bunny and spend hours upon hours on the treadmill and elliptical, there’s a reason you aren’t seeing yourself lean out. Although cardio workouts might (might) burn more calories than weight training, your metabolism stays elevated for longer after slinging some weights than it does after 30 minutes on the stair-stepper.

Cardio is good for fat loss in the moment. Strength training is good for fat loss even after you’ve stopped training. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.

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Weight lifting is also better for building muscle compared to cardio, and when you have more muscle, your body burns more calories throughout the day. This means the more muscle you build, the harder it will be to gain and maintain body fat, because your body will turn into a calorie-burning machine.

If you are not seeing the results you want from your current training program, pick up a barbell or some dumbbells and start incorporating weightlifting into your fitness regimen. It is the ideal program for improving body composition.

Nutrition

If you don’t know by now, abs are made in the kitchen. Training hard isn’t enough. Your diet must be on point if you want to lose fat and lean out. While your total caloric intake is important (and possibly the most important), the kind of calories you eat matter too.

If you have made some major changes to your diet but still aren’t seeing results, you might consider tracking your macros (protein, carbs, and fats) if you are not already.

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Your macros depend on your training schedule, goals, gender, age, and other factors. If your macros are totally out of whack, they could be to blame for stubborn body fat. For example, if you’re not eating enough carbs or protein or you’re eating too much fat, your body composition might not change, regardless of your training. Getting these ratios into the right balance can help you achieve your goals.

There are a ton of “macro calculators” you can find online, or if you really want to take your nutrition to the next level, you may consider finding a nutrition coach. Whatever approach you take, remember to eat clean and log your food.

Never forget: you can’t out-train a bad diet!

Recovery

You only spend so many hours in the gym per week. How you spend the rest (and the majority) of your time recovering is equally, if not more, important. This is when your body rebuilds and grows stronger. This is when the magic happens. Are you taking care to recover intelligently? Are you spending time on active recovery, mobilising, foam rolling, and stretching?

On a similar note, make sure you are not overtraining. One might think more training and added workouts would lead to better and faster progress, but it is actually the opposite. When you overtrain and don’t spend sufficient time on recovery, your body will have a hard time producing lean muscle mass. It will actually work in the opposite direction and burn muscle rather than fat and ultimately lead to a nasty case of CNS fatigue.

Stick to your program, and if you get the urge to add an extra workout in, instead spend time rolling out or stretching. Your body will thank you in the long run.

Remember change doesn’t happen overnight. Don’t give yourself a hard time if you aren’t seeing results in the first couple of weeks. Make a plan by finding a training program that works well for you, macros to follow that are unique to you and your goals, and a recovery regimen that will make sure your body is getting the rest it needs in between workouts. Most importantly, remember to show yourself some love even if you aren’t exactly where you want to be yet.

Main image: Annie Thorisdottir/Instagram