Clean eating?!?

For me nutrition has always been eat as much as possible and lift as heavy as possible.  Recently I decided that I would try to go completely grain less.  I've never been a big bread or pasta guy and I despise rice, well unless its around sushi, but my philosophy has been at the end of the day if I'm short on calories then a calorie is a calorie. This may mean grabbing 5 cheeseburgers or whatever I can get my hands on.  Now going grain less doesn't mean I went "Paleo".  I feel "Paleo" is a fad, which may have started out as great idea but has been bastardized.  I mean come on a quick google search yields paleo cupcakes, cookie dough... I bet there is even paleo socks for your paleo feet.

So what did I eat?  Basically I ate a high fat diet consisting of  meat (beef, venison, pork, chicken, fish) and green vegetables (cabbages, kale, zucchini, avocados....) and some starches (butternut squash, spaghetti squash...).  Timing wise I started basically everyday with a keto coffee (tablespoon butter + 2-3 tablespoons of heavy cream or coconut oil and a little cinnamon).  I didn't intentionally intermittent fast but just ate when I was hungry or when my schedule allowed.  My goals were to get a minimum of 4,000 calories and to remain grain free.  I managed to keep my calories high by the addition of whole milk to my diet (almost 3/4 to 1 gallon a day).  I know some people scoff at this especially you "paleo" people, but answer me this back in the day wasn't everyone breast fed at one time?  It's my right as a mammal HAHA!!!

So after 4 easy weeks I decided to have a good cheat day.  It started with doughnuts, then on to pizza, and some Girl Scout cookies.  Everything tasted great but I felt like I was going to die.  WHY???  Did my body make some kind of magical switch in four weeks?  Did I just eat too much?  Who really knows since this isn't some scientific study and just observations (which I think since this is on the internet counts as sound scientific fact that all must obey) how can I really say.  What I did observe is that my recovery seemed quicker, but that could of been the extra calories.  My sleep was better even with two small children.  I was able to keep my weight up and did lose some body fat.  So take it for what it is.

What did disappoint me was the reaction my body had to the cheat day.  One of the perks of being in competitive lifting is the post weigh-in bloat.  I have had some really impressive bloat days gaining 23 lb in as short as 8 hours.  I did  this by hydration and eating a personal pizza almost every hour on the hour plus several other bloat-tastic foods (damn!!!).  I guess I'll have to adjust my bloat day to include other things.  Oh well I'd take the added benefits of what I observed over the past four weeks and try to make adjustments to my bloat day.  

My power clean is the same as my clean! Help!!!

I get the privilege to travel around and coach some very strong, energetic people in weightlifting. I teach a very basic style of hip extension applying physics you know the branch of science concerned with the nature and properties of matter (the loaded bar) and energy (the lifter). Some coaches teach a "hip bang or bounce" but the differences are for another post. I teach a very straight pull which results in a straight bar path. What gets me is once the coaching session is underway i almost always hear "wow I need help my power clean is 225 but my squat clean is 230!" First off I shutter every time I hear the term squat clean and my weightlifting friends / snobs will agree.   THERE IS NO REASON TO SAY SQUAT CLEAN!  But the bigger question is why on earth would it be acceptable for your power clean to be more than your clean or even close?

There are three main culprits that cause this to be the norm in a lot of gyms and we will briefly look at each. First off many lifters especially newbies don't have the flexibility or mobility to do a full squat. Secondly in addition to not having the mobility many don't know how to squat.  A lifter with poor mobility will tend to squat by 1st pushing their butt back and try to get depth by leaning forward and rounding the lower back. With this lethal cocktail of poor mobility and poor technique it's no wonder why many can't squat under a weight with it in a front rack.

So what would be the third reason?  It's the pull stupid!  Many times when lifters pull a power clean their pull is a back lift instead of a hip dominant lift. Using the big electors to pull a weight generally forces the lifter back on the heels. Now everyone take a break, stand up, rock back on your heels and try to squat down.  What happens you stick your butt back!  Yes using the back to create momentum does just that but it puts the lifter so out of position that they can not squat under the bar. Over time the electors become very strong leaving the gluteus to slowly be under developed from the lack of proper squatting and activation. It's a vicious cycle that leads to power cleans being more than "squat"cleans.   

What should a lifter do?  Work on your mobility not just when you're at the gym but everyday and several times a day. Perfect your pull.  Learn how to use your hips they are or should be stronger than your back and way more explosive. Take the power clean out of your training. If you catch a clean high punish yourself with a good front squat if you catch a clean in good position then reward yourself with a good front squat.