How to pre-pair for ANW

     So some of you may ask, wonder, or don't even care about how to pre-pair for the upcoming American Ninja Warrior events. I'm writing this blog to help inform you on how to set yourself up physically and mentally along with a tool box of things to assist you on the way. Please note I'm not a licensed nutritionalist, or physical therapist. These are merely suggestions to help you and have worked for me and my clients.

Preparing your body for ANW.

     First off and most important to the ninjas right now getting ready for Venice Beach is knowing that your body runs on a 48hr biological clock! Meaning what you do today and the sleep you get from today will directly play into your Friday runs.

Sleep: 

     Most people don't know this, so within 2-3 days of your competition make sure your eating well(should always eat well) and getting a minimum of 8hrs of sleep(or whatever your body needs for a full recovery.) Doesn't matter if you got some good sleep the day before the event, that wont help you nearly as much as getting that good sleep two days prior. This is one of the biggest issues we have, if you rested well you will be alert, refreshed and have faster reaction times and better muscle control/ contractions to take on the course mentally and physically.

Food: 

     Next is the food you eat. Most of us are health conscious anyways so I wont spend too much time on this subject. Remember to stay away from foods that will cause you to crash or feel sluggish. Some of these would be soda, fast food, candy, alcohol  sugary drinks(juice, energy drinks), and sources from bread(white bread, chips, beans, rice...ect) Most of these make sense as far as bread like(gluten foods) go you don't want to consume alot of them to very little cause it may cause bloating and spiked insulin levels which will cause "crashing" or feeling of sleepiness.
     Instead if your looking for carbs look for sources from vegetables and fruits stick with fruits like apples, oranges, and pears or bring some grilled veggies with you like asparagus  bell peppers, and so on. As well fat is a great way to keep yourself from feeling hungry and give you lots of energy. Nuts, seeds, avocados are great for snacking and mix them with a little of dried fruit and your good to go.

Hydrating:

     As far as drinks go consider your going to be walking around for a while so you want to stay hydrated. Drink lots of water, and don't mind going to the restrooms every 2hrs. Gatoraide/Poweraide are ok but I suggest getting the "light" version of them which has about 1/3 of the sugar. Another great source of hydration is Coconut water. This comes from an excellent form of potassium and is great for re-hydrating and staying hydrated!

Keeping your Body limber for your run.

     Again most of you know how to stretch out and what works for you but I want to include some things which you may not have seen or done before that may be more beneficial  if anything less just something to add to your tool box to preparing your physical body. Here are two things to add that I have found super effective for myself and alot of the members I work with at the gym I instruct at.

MobilityWOD: 

     A blog operated by Kelly Starlett a licensed physical therapist, coach, and a person who has revolutionized how athletes think of human movement and athletic performance.
You can visit his website which is filled to the brim of how to videos to increase your mobility and help with problems you might have.
"All human beings should be able to perform basic maintenance on themselves.” – Dr. Kelly Starrett
www.mobilitywod.com

SMR(Self-Myofascial Release):

     This is a form of self massage therapy you can perform on yourself that is really effective using foam rollers, lacrosse balls, yoga blocks, and more. I use a method provided by Jeff Alexander(an ex Marine, CrossFit, NASM, & ISSA Certified Personal Trainer, Performance Nutrition Specialist, FMScertified, Re-Gen Clinic Instructor.) He has a website which gives you a free basic book of the main simple movements you can do with these tools to great increase your range of motion and decrease you chances of injury. Here is a link to 3 main regions you should work on to increase mobility http://smr.networkfitness.com/primary-regions there are more on the website. You just have to browse around.

     Going back to the basics doing static stretching is great for after your runs or working out. For prior stretching though you want to use different forms of dynamic stretching cause you will maintain your strength afterwords. With static stretching you tend to loose about 1-3% of your strength according to proven university studies and other sources.

I will post more in another blog about to to prepare for camping out in the Tryout line if I can find the time here in the next few hours. Till then enjoy and send me any suggestions you might have.