9.5.2017

Week 1

Welcome to SEAL Training!  During the next 8 weeks, there will be a new weekly goal for you to focus on either in class, outside of class, or both.  These will be posted with the Monday workouts at the beginning of each week, and we'll discuss them in class as well.  Your participation in working on these goals will go a long way toward changing your habits, keeping you performing your best during the workouts, and feeling and moving better all the time.  

Keeping your own workout journal is also strongly encouraged.  Just a cheap spiral or composition book is all you need!  You can even keep this in your phone if you prefer.  In it, you can record your weekly goals, workouts, recovery habits, etc.  You'll be reminded to record your workout results in your journal after every class.  It will go a long way toward helping you stay on track!

That's covered, now let's get started!

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Goal: Breathing

Bring your awareness to your breathing several times throughout the day and be sure you are breathing fully.  Try a few minutes of box breathing any time you are feeling stressed out or having trouble relaxing.  Stay aware of your breath during workouts, and continue breathing through the nose and out through the mouth as much as possible.

Dr Andrew Weil said, “Improper breathing is a common cause of ill health.  If I had to limit my advice on healthier living to just one item, it would be simply to learn how to breathe correctly.  There’s no single more powerful— or more simple— daily practice to further your health and well-being than breath work.”  Because breathing is a controllable event that can be regulated, it’s very useful for attaining a relaxed and centered state of mind.

Oxygen feeds every part of your body.  Breathing deeply and slowly will relax the body, while instantly sending powerful doses of oxygen to the brain and every single cell of the body.  Deep breathing raises blood oxygen levels, stimulating the digestive system, and improving physical and mental performance.

Before every workout, you will spend a few minutes performing box breathing while you roll out your muscles.  Box breathing consists of exhaling all the air from your lungs through the nose to a count of 4, holding it for 4, inhaling fully through the nose to a count of 4, holding for 4, and repeating.  You can build up to longer increments of time as it becomes more comfortable.  This calms and prepares your nervous system.

Being aware of your breathing is vital to increase your power, presence and mental control during the workouts. SEALs call this arousal control.  Breathe in through the nose and out through the nose or mouth as much as possible.  Take air all the way into the lungs- your belly should expand with each breath.  If you feel the need to gasp for air, take a few mouth breaths, then go back to controlling your breathing through the nose.  During rests, always focus on deep, slow breathing.

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Tuesday

The first 4 weeks are the on ramp phase, which lead into the basic training phase of weeks 5 through 8.  Use these first 4 weeks to work on mastering the moves, your breathing and mobility, and being consistent! 

Baseline

Box breathing/ rolling trouble spots/ ROM drills

3 Rounds
200m Run
10 Air Squats
10/10 Arm Circles (10 fwd/ 10 bkwd)

Strength

5x
5 Double FSQ (modify to GSQ)
*Keep it fairly light

Work Capacity (& first assessment)

2x for time (modified to 1x for beginners)
400m Run
40 Air Squats
30 Butterfly Situps
20 HRPU
10 Pullups (kipping is fine, but chin must clear the bar!  Modify with band, jumping pullups, or ring rows)
 

Durability

Yoga Hip and Shoulder Mobility.

SEAL training is back!

More than just a fitness program, SEAL training teaches mental fortitude, physical strength and endurance, as well as mobility, flexibility, and focus.  This program gradually builds you up over an 8 week period, and trains you to look, feel, and think like a special operations team member.  Every individual is stronger when they work together as a team.  Join our team, and we'll help you push harder, get stronger, and accomplish more than you've ever been able to do on your own!

This program begins Tuesday, September 5, and coincides with the Track Your Macros nutrition program!

2.11.2017

Saturday

Baseline

Box breathing/ rolling trouble spots/ ROM drills

2 Rounds
200m Run
15 Double KB Cleans

Work Capacity

3 min AMRAP x 5 Rounds, rest 1 min between each round.
3 Double KB Cleans (or 3/3 single arm)
6 Burpees
9 Situps

*In 3 minutes, complete as many rounds as possible.  Rest 1 min.  Repeat the 3 min AMRAP.  Rest 1 min… etc, until 5 rounds of the AMRAP have been completed, for a total of 15 working minutes.

Durability

3 mile or 30 min run at moderate pace. 

Yoga or active stretch

2.9.2017

If you want to pick up fresh, ready-made meals at the gym next week, you need to place your order by 8pm tonight!  Find all the info here

Also, if you are on an auto-drafting membership and haven't yet entered your payment information into the new membership system, I need your help to get this done!  Your payment amount and date will not change.  If you haven't received an email about how to do this, please let me know!  And if you'd prefer to bring a voided check to the gym with you, I can take care of it for you :)  Thanks, guys!

Thursday

Baseline

Box breathing/ rolling trouble spots/ ROM drills

3 Rounds
200m Run
20 KB Swings
10 Squat Jumps
Bear Crawl 10m

Work Capacity

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
Pullups
Pushups
Killers (per leg)

Durability

Accumulate 2 min hollow body hold.

Yoga or active stretch.

1.27.2017

A little post workout box breathing to kickstart the recovery process... 

Friday

Baseline

Box breathing/ rolling trouble spots/ ROM drills

250m Row
15 Push Press
200m Run
15 Box Jumps

Strength

5 Rounds
5 Push Press

Work Capacity

3 Rounds
1 min ME Wall Balls
1 min ME KB Swing (KB deadlifts)
1 min ME Box Jumps (over the ball jumps or step ups)
1 min ME Push Press (16/12kg)
1 min Max Calorie Row
1 min Rest

2.8.2016

Week 6

Goal of the week- Focus

Every morning, come up with one goal to focus on.  It can be something you want to accomplish, or something you feel would make the day awesome.  Write it in your journal in the morning, and check it off at night.

Each day is an opportunity to get closer to your goals.  You all should have at least one goal on the board in the gym that you want to accomplish in 2016.  If you haven’t done this yet, then THAT is your first goal- to make a goal!  The only way to work toward your larger goals is to take one step toward them every single day.  So, before you start your day, decide on one thing you can do that will move you in the direction you want to go, and get it down on paper.  

Maybe you have a lot of things hanging over your head that you need to work through, and they don’t have anything at all to do with your 2016 goal.  That’s ok!  Pick one thing that needs to be done, and make that your goal.  Those baskets of laundry that need to be folded may not be part of your goal for the year, but staying on top of those little things DO actually help clear the path for you to keep moving forward.  And it always helps to be able to check that one item off your list in the evening and feel like you have done something productive every single day.  Keep in mind that your goal one day may be to kick your feet up and actually take 15 minutes to yourself and relax.  Doing nothing can be productive for you, too!  Anything that meets a current need or desire, or something that will make you happy counts.  The point is to focus on what is important to you, and to get it done.  Add focus to every single day, to ensure that you use each one to move in the direction you desire to go.   

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Monday 

Baseline
Box breathing/ rolling trouble spots
ROM drills

400m Run
15 Air Squats
400m Run
15 GSQ

Strength
10 Rounds
3 Double KB Front Squats

Work Capacity
5 RFT
30 Situps
20 KB Swings
10 Box Jumps

Durability
3 Rounds
60 sec Plank
10 Good Mornings

Yoga hip mobility.

Record workout results in training journal.
Continue with all weekly goals so far, and remember to create a daily goal to focus on each morning, and record it in your journal.

2.1.2016

Week 5

Congratulations!  You guys have complete the on ramp section of our SEAL training program.  By this point you have learned that each session is much more than a workout… we don’t just roll in the door, kick our own butts, and walk back out.  The attention to detail is what matters here, from the breathing, to the baseline, to the workout briefing, to the yoga and/or stretching cool down.  There is a protocol that we strictly follow in order to be sure each training session is holistic and addresses our bodies and our minds, our training and our recovery.  Now that we have this system down, it’s time to move on to the basic training phase!  

Goal of the week- practice gratitude

Focus on the positive things that happened every day.  Record three things you are grateful for in your journal nightly.  

One of the aspects of the SEALFIT training program that sets it apart from most others, is the importance it places on mental training and a positive attitude.  Mark Devine makes it clear that you need to get your mind right in order to get your body right.  He says that you shouldn’t even begin to tackle any physical challenge until you have already won it in your mind.  In order to reach any of your goals, it’s important to begin with an optimistic attitude;  a negative attitude certainly won’t get you very far.

One very simple way to work on cultivating optimism is by practicing gratitude. By focusing on the positive things in your life, no matter how small, you will begin to see and attract MORE positive things, and the negative things will disappear.  If you focus on the negative, you will only continue to create more negative.  Creating an optimistic attitude improves your psychological health, which improves your physical health.  It’s all connected!  We can’t optimize our physical health without optimizing our mental health, so it’s important to be as driven and consistent with your mental exercises as you are with the workouts in the gym.  This practice will only take a few minutes every night, but the key is consistency!  Don’t skip a single day.  Your training journal will nowcontain your workout results, water intake, daily nutrition, and three things you’re grateful for every day.  

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Monday

Baseline
Box breathing/ rolling trouble spots
ROM drills

3 Rounds
200m Run
5 Air Squats
5 GSQ
5 Pushups
30 sec Plank

Strength
10 Rounds
3 Double KB Front Squats

Work Capacity
For Time
100 DU
80 Air Squats
60 Situps
40 Wall Balls
20 Chest-to-Bar Pull-ups (modify to chin over bar, jumping, or ring rows)
10 Clapping Pushups (modify to plyo pushups, or shoulder tap pushups)

Durability
3 Rounds
15 Weighted Situps
30 sec Handstand hold (or hollow body)
10 Supermans

Yoga Short Form A or active stretch.

Record workout results in training journal.
Also record box breathing practice, water intake, hours of sleep, nutrition, and gratitude daily.

1.26.2016

Tuesday

Baseline
Box breathing/ rolling trouble spots/ ROM drills

10 Minutes
TGU

Work Capacity
15-12-9-6-3
KB Swings
Box Jumps
Weighted Situps (using wall ball or kettle bell)

Durability
Yoga Short Form A or active stretch.

Record workout results in training journal.
Also record box breathing practice, water intake, hours of sleep, and nutrition.

1.25.2016

Week 4

Goal of the week- Nutrition

Eat protein, veggies and/or fruit, and fat at every meal.  No processed foods, added sugar, or grains!  Limit fruit to 2 per day and get in as many veggies as you can.

Now that you guys have your breathing, hydration and sleep in order, it’s time to start fueling up properly!  Together, these four pieces complete the physical aspects of your durability (or recovery) habits.  If you still haven’t been consistent with the breathing practice, water intake or sleep, stop right here!  Don’t even attempt these nutrition guidelines until the other habits are solidly in place.  Go back to the goals you haven’t been consistent with and work on those.  Record your progress daily in your journal, and then come back to this week’s goal.

So, what does SEAL fuel look like?  Basically, it’s a modified version of the Paleo diet.  And why the heck does this dang Paleo diet keep popping up?!  Because it decreases inflammation.  Whether or not you have allergies or sensitivities to wheat, the fact is, wheat (along with many other foods in our modern diet) is highly inflammatory.  If your body doesn’t have to work hard to recover from the “foods” you’re eating, then it can focus more energy on muscle recovery!  In short, fresh food makes healthy bodies.  You won’t find a healthy body in a box of cereal.

Here are the 5 steps you need to follow; please, don’t count calories!  Just focus on the types of foods you’re eating, and use these 5 rules to guide your food choices:

1. Cut out sugar and processed foods.  Remember the real food challenge?  Here it is again.  Read your labels, and don’t buy or eat anything that has ingredients you don’t recognize.  If an ingredient wasn’t found in nature, it shouldn’t be put into your body.  But what about honey and maple syrup, you ask?  Fine, but you need to limit them to treats; as in, maybe once a week.  Sugar shouldn’t show up in your diet on a daily basis!
2. Remove grains 80% of the time.  This means ALL grains… wheat, rice, pasta, crackers, tortilla chips (yes, corn is a grain), etc.  This 80% rule means that you can include grains on occasion (maybe 1-2 times per week), but for the most part, your carbohydrate sources will come from produce.  
3. Eliminate cow’s milk and highly processed cheese and yogurt.  If you don’t have any dairy sensitivities, you may include REAL cheese (not Velveeta) and full fat, unsweetened dairy products (like plain, whole yogurt and full fat sour cream).  If you are including dairy products, it’s very important that you choose grass-fed, organic products!  Kerrygold butter and cheese, Organic Valley cream cheese, etc.  If you’re going to eat it, get the best quality you can find!
4. Eliminate most starches and legumes (white potatoes*, corn, beans, etc).  They can be included 20% of the time, just like grains.  Sweet potatoes are fine, so you may include them as a veggie.  The goal is to fuel up with as many fresh veggies and fruits as possible, so those will be your main carb source.  Remember that hummus is made from legumes, so this should be limited to once or twice per week!  
5. Remove processed vegetable oils, and replace them with olive oil and coconut oil.  Avocados, walnuts, almonds and fatty fish are all excellent fat sources that should be eaten in place of vegetable oils.  

*Many paleo nutritionists have gone back on the “no white potatoes” rule and now state that it’s ok to keep them in your diet.  The SEALFIT book still recommends that you remove them, but it was published in 2014.  So this one is up to you! 

Is you're head spinning yet?  To make this simpler, every meal should consist of vegetables and/or fruit, protein (eggs, poultry, meat, fish, of as high a quality as possible), and quality fat.  Don't count calories- just eat real food!  

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Monday

Baseline
Box breathing/ rolling trouble spots/ ROM drills

3 Rounds
200m Run
10 OH Squats with PVC
10 Pushups

Strength
5 Rounds
5 Overhead Squats (double kettlebells, or modify to single KB, or Front Rack Squats)

Work Capacity
Crossfit’s Nancy
5RFT
400m Run
15 OH Squats

Durability
Yoga Short Form B or active stretch.

Record workout results in training journal.
Also record box breathing practice, water intake, hours of sleep, and food daily.

1.19.2016

For those of you who attended Candy's yoga class last Sunday (the 10th), you got to experience yoga nidra.  This is a guided meditation, and it is AWESOME for relaxation.  There are a lot of recordings out there, but I really like the one Candy recommended to me, which she used in class.  The album, called Mukti Meditations, is available on iTunes.  The "Inner Silence" track is the one that was used in class, and there's another one called "Yoga Nidra" that is great when you have more time.  It's 43 minutes long, and I love listening to that before bed.  The idea with these meditations is to actually stay awake during the entire thing in order to reap the full benefits, so if you can listen to these at some point during the day, that's even better!  

Another great option is the app called Headspace.  Headspace has a series of 10 minute meditations... anyone can find 10 minutes a day to do this!  

Tuesday

Baseline
Box breathing/ rolling trouble spots/ ROM drills

3 Rounds
200m Run
25 Jumping Jacks
15 Situps
5 HRPU

Work Capacity
20 min AMRAP
400m Run
10 Thrusters (Double KB: 20/12kg)
10 Knees to Elbows

Durability
Yoga hip mobility or active stretch.

Record workout, daily hydration, and box breathing practice in your journal.  
Write down your total hours of sleep last night.  Be sure to get to bed early enough tonight so that you can get at least 7 hours of sleep!