Here’s what’s going on this week at the gym!
Week of October 9th – 15th, 2022
Birthdays
None this month!
Announcements
Our Halloween Party is this Friday, the 14th, from 7:30-10pm. Bring your family and friends for a fun evening filled with games, goodies, music and more!
InBody Scans
All Vernal Fitness members are eligible for a complimentary InBody scan each month. Aside from tracking our performance in Wodify, body composition scans are the best way to track progress and measure results.
PROGRAMMING OVERVIEW
October 10-15
This will be the final and heaviest weeks of our Split Jerk and Snatch Pull cycle. On the split jerk, we aren’t looking for a 1RM, but the weight should be pretty close, while the snatch pulls should ideally be performed at a weight above your 1RM.
On Tuesday, you will also have 15 minutes to find a new 10RM back squat. Use the previous weeks to help gauge a number to hit.
Re-tests this week will be “Bane,” “Bolt,” “Billie Jean,” and “The Bus,” while also introducing a new benchmark, “Walking Diane,” that will swap HSPU for wall walks.
Monday
Lactate threshold training is the place where clients can move at the fastest pace possible (approx 70-80% max HR) without generating more lactic acid than your body can utilize.
Working at this intensity can help to develop the ability to go faster, longer!
The key today is finding a quick pace that can be sustained without slowing down for the full four rounds.
Tuesday
Spending time at sustained higher intensities can improve horsepower and help you to work at higher intensities for longer.
Performing varied intervals here can also help to improve your abilities to recover and perform multiple high intensity efforts before fatigue slows you down.
Wednesday
If you want to push today, approach the workout at a slightly higher intensity 60-70%.
This is an awesome workout for developing higher end aerobic capacity and improving the intensity at which lactate threshold happens.
Finding a fast, sustainable pace today will help you buffer lactate, which can help you to go faster for longer periods of time in future workouts before muscular fatigue limits performance
Thursday
Work hard (80% max HR and above), rest hard, repeat!
Pick a weight that challenges you but also allows you to move quickly through each of the four minute work sets.
Rest intervals are short but good recovery breathing and active recovery should allow heart rate to recover as close to 60% max HR as possible each round.
Friday
21-15-9 reps schemes are meant to be done quickly and at a high intensity.
Pick a DL weight and Wall Walk scale that lets you complete the reps in big chunks, keeping work output high as the rep requirements decrease.
For those training by heart rate or looking to RX the stimulus, HR should be high (85-100% of calculated max HR) and may offer a situation in which you see a new max HR number to use in future workouts!
Saturday
Partners should plan ahead to determine how they will break up the reps, aiming to trade off before movement speed or quality starts to break down.
Pick a weight that allows them to cycle through at least 5-10 KB Clean and Jerks at the outset. Breaking up the Bike Calories into moderate chunks will help to manage exertion and keep work output at a moderately high level for the duration of the WOD.
Push the pace on the bike Cals and use your rest breaks while your partner is working to gain as much recovery as possible. A quick, consistent effort from each partner is our goal today.
Full workout descriptions and notes are available to all members of Vernal Fitness & Nutrition. For more info, email us here.
Many people will be participating in a challenge this month called “Sober October”, in which they eliminate alcohol for 30 days. Whether you choose alcohol or some other habit to abstain from, we issue the same challenge to you! Think of something that might benefit you to eliminate from your life for the next month and see the impact that will make.
ALCOHOL
Some people may use alcohol to help them fall asleep, but fail to realize the negative impact that it is having on their quality and quantity of sleep.
In particular, alcohol can disrupt our slow wave (deep sleep) and our REM sleep, which is essential to learning and memory.
If you are going to participate in Sober October, your task for the next two weeks is to keep track of how your sleep changes as you cut alcohol from your diets. Note any difficulties falling asleep and changes in energy levels the following morning.
Giving up drinking, even for a short period of time, can help with weight loss. Initially, this could be attributed to less bloating as alcohol is an inflammatory substance that can cause swelling, but in the long term, reducing alcohol has been shown to increase metabolism. More importantly, drinking overloads the body with extra calories that could be holding you back from reaching your goals.
As an enlightening exercise, click here to check out the amount of calories in alcohol. You can enter in the number of drinks you normally have on a daily or weekly basis. It’s eye opening to see the amount of additional calories you could be consuming.
ANXIETY
Many people use drinking as a way to reduce social anxiety, making it a key component to events when they head out for an evening.
The problem with using alcohol to reduce anxiety is that it can actually make us more anxious. When our blood alcohol content increases, we can become emotionally unstable and find it even more challenging to manage our stress.
Here are some tips to help reduce stress in social situations without resorting to alcohol:
- Breathwork
- Positive affirmations
- Have a support person
- Calming music
YOU CAN DO THIS!
No matter what you choose to cut out for the next 30 days, keep track of how you are feeling throughout the month. Notice what is changing in your life, your performance in the gym, and any benefits you are seeing on a daily and/or weekly basis including energy levels, clearer skin, and better focus.
If you need some help or guidance, we are here to help! Just reply to this email and let me know what you would like to eliminate and I can give you some quick tips or come up with a plan for you!
Recipes
This fall recipe comes from delish.com and would be great as a dinner or even meal prepped lunches for the week!
Harvest Chicken Casserole
YIELDS:
8 SERVINGS
PREP TIME:
20 MINS
TOTAL TIME:
1 HOUR 0 MINS
INGREDIENTS
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided, plus more for baking dish
2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 onion, chopped
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
1 lb. brussels sprouts, trimmed and quartered
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 c. low-sodium chicken broth, divided
6 c. cooked wild rice
1/2 c. dried cranberries
1/2 c. sliced almonds
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350° and grease a 9″-x-13″ baking dish with oil. In a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1 tablespoon of oil. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Add chicken to skillet and cook until golden and cooked through, 8 minutes per side. Let rest for 10 minutes, then cut into 1″ pieces.
Heat another tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Add onion, sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts, garlic, thyme, paprika, and cumin. Season with salt and pepper and cook until softened, 5 minutes. Add 1/4 cup broth, bring to a simmer, and cook, covered, 5 minutes.
Place cooked rice in a large baking dish and season with salt and pepper. Stir in chicken, cranberries, cooked vegetables, and remaining 1/4 cup broth. Top with almonds and bake until the dish is hot and almonds are toasted, 15 to 18 minutes.