The Best Foods to Eat Before and After Your Workout (+ This Month’s 100 Burpee Challenge!)

 

Knowing what to eat before and after a workout can dramatically improve your workout and may be the difference of whether or not you meet your goals, whether they’re athletic or strength-based, weight loss, or both.

If you’re not eating the right foods before your workout, not only will you not be able to perform at your best, you also may be so low on energy you have trouble even getting through your workout at all (I’ve had this happen, it’s not fun).

And if you’re not eating properly after your workout, you’re not ensuring proper muscle recovery and may be actually setting yourself up for failure, despite your best intentions.

So today, I’m excited to share some awesome workout nutrition advice by one of the top mixed martial arts coaches in the world, Funk Roberts (he’s trained today’s top MMA and UFC fighters!).

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72 Awesome Resources to Get You in Fighting Shape

 

I’ve told you guys how much I love boxing, right?

You’ve probably at least noticed there are more and more boxing and kickboxing-focused workouts here on the site, because not only is punching and kicking something really freaking hard a great way to burn off some stress, it also:

  • Burns a ton of calories and blasts fat
  • Will help you create a strong, athletic build
  • Is super fun!
  • Makes you look like a total badass

And that’s why I’m super excited to tell you about a project I’ve been working on for a while now: The Combat Bundle, a bunch of super awesome resources all meant to get you in fighting shape in the most fun, efficient way possible.

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8 Plank Variations For a Super Strong Core

plank variations 12 minute athlete

I’m sure you already know that planks are one of the best exercises you can do to work your core. Not only are planks really versatile and travel-friendly, they also work more than 20 muscles, including your abdominal muscles, obliques, shoulders, quads, glutes, and more.

I don’t know about you though, but I can’t imagine anything more boring than just hanging out in a basic plank for minutes upon end. Sure, static holds are great to include in your training (which is why I often include them as a bonus for after your workout), but dang can they get boring pretty quickly.

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How Many Calories Do 12 Minute Athlete Workouts Burn?

 

I can’t tell you how many times a week I get asked how many calories the 12 Minute Athlete HIIT workouts burn.

I always have a hard time responding, because the short answer is: I don’t know.

Not because the calorie burn can’t be measured at all, but because there are so many different factors to consider when trying to figure out how many calories you’re burning.

Things like:

  • How much you weigh (the more you weigh, the more calories you’ll burn)
  • Whether you’re male or female (men will burn more, but a lot of that is due to the fact that they’re just heavier)
  • How hard you work (you’ll burn more the harder you work)
  • What your fitness level is and how efficient your body is at burning fat

And so on.

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Food Logging: What I Eat in a Day (Travel Version)

 

These past couple of weeks, I was traveling around Europe, visiting Amsterdam (where I used to live), Cinque Terre, Italy, Cannes, and Nice, France.

While I’ve posted a food log of a typical day’s food intake before, I thought it might be interesting for some of you that travel often to see an example of what I might eat when away from home.

Keep in mind that though I do try and eat healthy as often as possible, I thoroughly believe in following the 80/20 rule in order to stay sane, especially while doing something extra special like visiting another country.

Because while it’s great to choose healthy choices whenever possible (lots of salads, veggies, protein-filled breakfasts, etc.), it really just isn’t always possible to eat 100% healthy when you’re away from your usual routine. But you know what? That’s perfectly OK. Life is meant to be enjoyed, and there’s zero point on missing out on delicious food when you’re someplace new or extra special.

In the long run, you’ll regret not eating the croissant, the fresh pesto pasta, the macaroon (or whatever the local specialty is) more than you’ll ever regret eating it.

Because as long as you’re still active, make it a priority to work out consistently, and try and walk as much as possible, you probably won’t even put on much extra body fat (unless, of course, it’s over a long period of time). Life is meant to be enjoyed, after all.

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5 Ways to Motivate Yourself to Do 100 Burpees

100 burpee challenge

If you’re still relatively new here, you’ve probably noticed that on the first Friday of every month we do a 100 burpee challenge—100 burpees, in a row, as fast as you possibly can.

I love this challenge because it’s hard for everyone—newbies who’ve never done a burpee in their life, seasoned athletes, even people who have been working out consistently for years and years. There’s just something about committing to doing 100 burpees in a row and getting ready to push “GO” on your stopwatch that’s incredibly intimidating—even for those of us who have been doing the challenge every month for a while now.

Because there’s no doubt about it: doing 100 burpees in a row is hard. By the end, you’ll no doubt be gasping for breath and your muscles will be shaking, but it’ll be worth it, because you’ll have proven to yourself that you can do something most people consider impossible.

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What I’ve Learned in 28 Years of Living

I’m not really sure where the time has gone, but somehow I turned 28 yesterday. Sometimes I wake up and think I’m still 15, and there are many times I step back in wonder at my life and where I am today. After growing up in the tiny, boring mill town of Camas, Washington, I’ve …

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Why I’ll Never Compete In A Bodybuilding or Physique Competition

This past weekend was the 50th annual Mr. Olympia Weekend, arguably the biggest weekend of the year for bodybuilders and bikini competitors where they compete for titles like Mr. and Ms. Olympia, Fitness Olympia and Figure Olympia.

It’s a pretty big deal in the world of bodybuilding, to say the least—and I chose not to go, just as I haven’t gone any other year since becoming a personal trainer.

In fact, I’d never even been near a bodybuilding competition of any type until the other weekend when I was staying in Venice Beach, one of my favorite places ever because of the incredible variety of activities there. I mean there’s a giant outdoor workout area (full of pull up bars, dip bars, rings, speed bag stations, and more!), a huge skate park, surfing, swimming, SUPing, biking… the list is endless (I know, I know, I’m a total nerd).

One of the days I was there I got up to work out as usual and right next to the outdoor workout area a bunch of male and female bodybuilders were getting ready to compete in various bodybuilding/bikini/physique competitions.

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Happy (Late) World Pull Up Day (And the New Pull Up Mastery Program!)

 

This past Sunday was World Pull Up Day, the official celebration day of one of the best bodyweight exercises ever.

If you’re on Instagram, you probably saw a lot of pull ups, different styles, progressions and whatnot from fitness and pull up lovers around the world.

And if you don’t already follow me there, here’s the pull up video I posted for the day:

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burpee variations

9 Awesome Burpee Variations to Mix Up Your Training

9 burpee variations to try

There’s no question that I love burpees.

After all, I include them in almost all of the workouts, have a monthly 100 burpee challenge, and talk about them pretty often. Oh, and they show up a lot in the app as well.

Why are burpees so awesome? For SO many reasons:

  • They work your entire body in one efficient, awesome move
  • They burn a lot of calories in a short time
  • They’re functional and will make you a better athlete

I could go on, but you get the idea. If you’re curious, here’s more about why burpees are so awesome.

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