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ASF Quick Tip: Truth on Food & Foam

In this week’s Quick Tips, Strength Coach Lance Olian shares two tips for outside the gym that can help you reach your personal fitness goals inside the gym.

Carbohydrate Timing

The truth is, there are no “bad” foods, only sub-optimal foods. What constitutes as optimal all depends on your goals. If you train for strength and athletic performance, high carbohydrate intake is good. If your goal is to attain more aesthetic pursuits, lower consumption of carbohydrates may be preferable. If your long term goal is lower energy and decreased brain function, “paleo” is the way to go!

All kidding aside, your brain and body require carbohydrates for optimal performance. Carbohydrates are a macronutrient food group (along with fats and proteins) either stored in your body as glycogen for fast energy or body fat for slow sustainable energy. Whether your body stores the carbs you intake as either glycogen or fat is largely determined on something body builders have known for decades: Nutrient timing.

This simple concept has us ingesting carbs when our body demands them – either in periods of increased energy demands, or as necessary energy replenishment – and lowering carbohydrate intake when we don’t require as much energy. What this all means, is that you should have plenty of carbs both before and immediately after your workout, but tapering off after.

So get your pre-workout oatmeal and post-workout fruit in, but replace that serving of pasta at dinner with some chicken thighs and broccoli.

The Simple Tool That CaQuick Tip 3n Save Your Life

Ok, maybe it can’t technically save your life, but this tool can make you feel much better. If you’ve ever gotten a really good deep-tissue massage, you know how rejuvenating, pain-relieving, and strengthening they can be. If you’ve never gotten a deep-tissue massage, go get one, you need it! However, most of our schedules and/or budgets cannot afford a daily trip to the masseuse, but what we can do every day is foam roll

A foam roller is a simple, cylindrical, semi-malleable object used for self myofascial release. It’s basically a way to give yourself a deep-tissue massage. Due to the way we workout or move throughout our daily activities, it is common for us to develop muscle knots which, when intensified, can cause us pain or weakness. By using a foam roller daily, we can address and release these forming knots before they worsen.

Chances are whatever tension pains you’re feeling, a foam roller can help immensely. This affordable product can be purchased at a local sporting goods store or online. Your trainer can show you all kinds of tips on how to effectively use it. Don’t have a trainer? Lucky for you, there are hundreds of YouTube videos detailing foam roller stretches.

About Lance: Lance is a strength coach at Austin Simply Fit. Having himself been previously weak, fat, and injured, he is motivated to help you reach your optimal health. Lance currently trains as a competitive powerlifter. Click here to read more about Lance

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