Nutrition Sarah Walls Nutrition Sarah Walls

An Oatmeal Recipe You'll Thank Me For

An oldie but a goodie. This is a recipe that nearly rivals my addiction to caffeine. It's awesome to make for breakfast or lunch, tastes a-m-a-z-i-n-g, is filling, and easy to take to work and/or on the road. I've been eating this on a weekly (sometimes daily) basis for the past two years. Many of my friends and family members are still making this after I showed it to them over a year ago. Let's get to it:

Crack Peanut Butter Oatmeal

Ingredients:

  • 1/2-1 Cup Steel Cut Oats (preferred) or Old Fashioned Rolled Oats. Adjust amount depending on current activity level.
  • About 1 Cup Milk (amount depends on how many oats used). If milk isn't your thing, you could use water or *coconut milk.
  • 1 scoop Whey Protein Powder
  • 1-3 Tbsp Xylitol (a magical plant sugar)
  • Dark Chocolate Cocoa Powder, about 1-2 Tbsp (measure to consistency...Trader Joe's Dark and Hershey's 100% tastes pretty darn good)
  • 1-3 Tbsp All-Natural Peanut Butter (adjust amount depending on activity level/goals)
  • ½ Banana, sliced (optional...I don't always put this in).

Directions

Combine everything in a bowl, stirring as you add ingredients. Place in microwave for 2-4 minutes (depending on strength of microwave), stirring about halfway through to ensure thorough heating. You can add Splenda as the sweetener, but I don't think it tastes nearly as good as xylitol (even though it's must cheaper). You may also use Agave Nectar (a low-glycemic sweetener extracted from a plant...found in most grocery stores). If using Agave Nectar as the sweetener, I prefer to add it after nuking. It will take a couple attempts to figure out the proportions you personally like to add to make it taste just right, but once you get it, you'll never go back to pre-packed flavored oatmeal that's nutrient-poor and loaded with sugar.

Notes:

  • You can also add some fruit on the side, such as some sliced strawberries or grapefruit
  • I prefer to get my steel cut and/or rolled oats from a natural foods store, as you can by loads of em for very cheap. If you don't have access to such a market, then plain Quaker oats are a good second choice.
  • If going for fat-loss, go light on the peanut butter (measure it, you'd be surprised at how much you use), and light on the sugar.
  • If looking for weight gain/muscle building, you can increase the oats and peanut butter used.
  • May also add some eggs on the side if you're really hungry or simply need a higher calorie/protein intake.

Note that it's not the most attractive-looking dish (due to the cocoa powder). Many of the athletes at SAPT have questioned my sanity when catching a glimpse of this on my lunch break. Not to fear, as it literally tastes like a peanut butter brownie! Their loss, not mine.

*A great tip I picked up is to boil the steel cut oats IN the coconut milk. Delicious!

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Q & A Sarah Walls Q & A Sarah Walls

Q & A: Finding a Place to Train

Q: Stevo,

I've fallen off the wagon and struggled with staying on track in any sort of workout over the past few years. Now that I'm working and have some discretionary income I was thinking that going to work out at a place like SAPT might help me get back on track.

1. I would be much less likely to miss an appointment than to skip going to workout on my own.2. Its better to have someone else create a program for me.3. Hopefully, it would be a welcoming environment and I might feel like part of a group or team.4. It would offer a more complete gym than the one available for free at work.

Anyways, what should I look for to make sure a place is legit? And what is a fair rate?

A. First, EXCELLENT points regarding the benefits of finding a solid training environment. I couldn't agree with you more, and, in fact, you saved me the trouble of listing them myself! All of your points are spot on and there's no doubt you'll find your training/results to be dramatically improved if you find a solid facility with good coaches.

Anyway, I hope I can answer your questions:

1. Look for Semi-Private Training. What this means is that there's a small group-to-coach ratio as opposed to 1-on-1 personal training. This way, you'll have the freedom to roam around and interact with the other people training without having a trainer breathing down your neck the entire time.

It also keeps the cost per session down, due to the fact that the facility owner doesn't need to charge as much per person for that hour of training. This is one of the reasons personal training is so expensive; since the trainer can only work with one person during that hour, it's often necessary to charge an arm and a leg to make that hour "worth it" from a business perspective.

This (semi-private training) is how SAPT sets it up, and it's fantastic because it creates more of a group environment, while at the same time keeping the prices down. And, even though one coach oversees 3-6 people, all of the programs are individualized, which brings me to my next point.

2. The Programs Should Be Individualized. If you walk in and everyone training is following a program written up on a whiteboard or chalkboard, it's probably best that you walk right back out the door.

I think it goes without saying that each person is, well, their own person. Everybody has their own unique strengths, weaknesses, goals, medical history, training history, etc. that demands a training plan fit for them specifically. As such, I highly recommend you find a facility in which the coach designs a program fit for each and every person in the room. This is the best way to ensure safe and effective training, not to mention the fact that your progress can be constantly monitored and fine-tuned throughout the process.

3. Private Facility. Chances are that you're not going to find what you're looking for in a commercial gym. A private facility will be less crowded, and you can count on the fact that each person in there is paying for that session. In general, this creates a more focused training environment. In many commercial facilities (where you pay a monthly fee to workout as many times as you want), it's not uncommon to see people walking aimlessly around, checking themselves out in the mirror multiple times, talking on their cell phone, reading a magazine as they bike, etc. because there isn't as much value placed on that time their spending in the gym.

You also won't need to pay any of the start-up fees, monthly fees, etc. that are typically associated with commercial gyms.

4. Avoid Trainers Who Swear by One Piece of Equipment. A good coach will will use a total system approach.

For example: Are kettlebells useful? Yes. However, should they be the only piece of equipment one should use? Of course not.

Sandbags, sleds, kettlebells, chains, etc. can all be useful in their appropriate context but never is one necessary to produce a solid training effect.

5. Don't Be Fooled By Appearances. Just because Mr. ScottySleevelessShirt has placed in a bodybuilding contest or two, doesn't mean he knows to train other people.Along a similar line, if you're seeking athletic performance enhancement, don't necessarily look for the ol' NFL "veteran" that opened up his own "Spike's Speed Camp."

Although you may have been given good genetics by your parents, or (to still give credit) may have done well for yourself in an athletic sport or bodybuilding, doesn't mean you know how to deliver results for others. To know what works well for you is one thing, but to have the expertise and experience to know how to coach a 10-year old girl who can hardly walk and chew gum at the same time, or to work with a 55-year old man who is twelve weeks post-rehab, is another.

6. If you walk in and see one of these, leave. Immediately.

7. Investigate the Coach/Trainer. How much experience do they actually have? Can they give you five referrals of people that they've worked for that can vouch for them?

You can also walk around and ask their clients what they think. Is the coach reliable? Genuine? Sincere? Does the coach love what he/she does? If they don't immediately know an answer to a client's question, do they do what they can to find out?

8. Cost. This is a tough one to answer. Personal training will typically cost you upwards of $80-$120 per session, so you'll obviously be paying less than this. I would I say anywhere from $35-$65/session would be a reasonable rate, depending on where you are.

If you're receiving a true quality service, then I wouldn't expect to go bargain shopping. Quality coaching, service, and support isn't going to be the cheapest price in town, but you can trust it will be more than worth it.

*9.* Do They Actually Deliver Results??? This should really be #1 on the list.

In today's technology/internet era, it's extremely easy to pass yourself off as a macho-trainer who knows everything, trained Olympians, can bench 500lbs, strips 40lbs of fat off of every overweight client, can shoot laser beams out of your eyes, etc.

However, is this really the case?

Take your time in scrutinizing whether or not the facility you're looking into produces - consistently - actual results! After all, is this not why you're going there in the first place?

For the people seeking added lean body mass, did this occur after working with said training center? Fat loss? Athletic performance enhancement? Improved movement quality? Contest prep?

A quality facility should be able to produce MULTIPLE accounts of real people, achieving real results (and allow you to speak with each person to prove it). And, not only be able to give many success stories, but also have a favorable success:failure ratio. Almost any dvd guru can give some testimonials of people who did well under their training, but what about the failure stories? I think many would be surprised if they knew the success:failure ratio of many well-known training "plans."

10. Consider Distance Coaching. Sometimes a quality training facility can be hard to come by, depending on where you're located. If there isn't one within a reasonable driving distance, then you could look into a distance coaching option.

This is why SAPT opened up distance coaching, as we quickly saw that there were people that wanted to train with us but simply couldn't due to location. With a good program, you'll receive an individualized training program, email and video support, and access to an online video database of the exercises (complete with coaching cues).

It may not be as good as training in the facility itself, but it will still be an enormous step in the direction you desire to go.

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Uncategorized Sarah Walls Uncategorized Sarah Walls

Are you a winter and/or spring sport athlete? You NEED to read this!!!

With yet another successful summer coming to a close, SAPT is gearing-up for a fall and winter full of unprecedented physical achievements! If your primary competitive season takes place in the winter, or spring, the time is NOW(!) to begin your performance training at SAPT! As our “cook’em slow” mantra suggests, physical adaptation and subsequent performance improvement doesn’t happen overnight, rather accrued through consistent hard-work over the course of a comfortable window of preparation. Don’t be left “cramming before the final,” contact us now to get a head start on your competition!

Contact us now so you may begin experiencing:

-Soft tissue techniques, activation, mobility and flexibility drills aimed at reducing mechanical asymmetries in the body, improve tissue quality and recovery rate, and reduce risk of injury.

-An accumulation block of preparation where training volume will be high to improve work capacities and allow for growth and development to occur.

-A more concentrated block of training where intensities peak and volume settles, aimed at improving maximal strength, power output, lateral agility, linear speed and acceleration.

-Tapering intensities as the competitive season draws near to allow for the acquisition of sport specific skill to become the primary focus during this time.

Want to see these methodologies in motion? Checkout our student-athletes in action by clicking HERE

Convinced SAPT is the right fit for you? Or, maybe you’d prefer to participate in a FREE trial session first? Contacting us is as easy as clicking HERE!

You won’t be disappointed…

Chris

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Nutrition Guest Post Nutrition Guest Post

Get Your Kale On: A Quick and Easy Recipe

Over the past year, I've been attacked by more illnesses (and lost the battle) than I have in the past four years combined.  As such, my fiancee has made it a point to ensure that more vegetables enter my life. More specifically, she's ensuring that more kale enters my life. Given that she has one of the most intense immune systems I know of - and the fact that she's a Precision Nutrition Certified Coach - I'm all ears.You see, Kale is a rockstar vegetable. Not only does it provide cardiovascular support, detox the body, regulate our anti-inflammatory processes, fight cancer, and provide a whopping dose of Vitamin A, C, and K, but it also tops the charts with its antioxident capacity. Seriously, it's number one among the vegetables, at least according to the best known ORAC (oxygen radical absorbance capacity) rating. What this all boils down to is this: when enemy ships (disease, cancer-imposing agents, free-radicals, etc.) enter your body, all of the antioxidants and phytochemicals you've ingested from kale act as homing missiles to completely destroy the incoming enemy ships.

I actually can't take credit for that analogy, as Kelsey is the one that gave it to me (I wasn't going to acquiesce to her request of eating more kale until she told me the kale would give me internal homing missiles....then I was all ears, obviously).

Anyway, now to point. This past Sunday, we made a DELICIOUS kale dish that I wanted to share with you all. It's super easy, actually tastes good, and will provide you with the aforementioned homing missiles to fight off not-so-friendly organisms trying to attack your body. Here's how to do it:

Peanut-Butter Kale

(^^^Yes, you read that right^^^)

Ingredients: Garlic, Red Onions, Peanut Butter (the magic maker), Kale, and Oil (we used coconut).

Directions:

  1. Heat coconut oil in a frying pan.
  2. Add garlic (minced) and red onions (chopped) and let simmer for a few minutes.
  3. Throw in a ton of kale leaves.
  4. Toss in ten a few tablespoons of peanut butter
  5. Stir around until the peanut butter melts over the kale and everything is thoroughly mixed.
  6. Give a high five to your cooking partner (preferably a member of the opposite sex).

Seriously, this tasted amazing and makes for a perfect side dish (or a dish all on its own, depending on how hungry you are). Not to mention, your immune system is now armed with the best defense system in the world.

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The Fine Art of Team Warm-ups

Designing a warm-up for a large team looks easy if you're watching passively from the sidelines. Unfortunately, this ease is quite deceptive. There are actually several critical aspects that need to be taken into account if you want you're warm-up to go from adequate to Fine Art status:1. Time: how much do you have? I usually try to end a minute or two before I told the coach I would be done (think under-promise and over-deliver, coaches LOVVVVVE that!). 2. Efficiency: you never have much of #1 and you may have as many as 30+ players. So, how do you keep them all moving, engaged, and organized? You gotta be efficient! 3. Effectiveness: Numbers 1 & 2 are components of this, but effectiveness speaks to the QUALITY of what you’re doing. Are you getting the most “bang for your buck” per movement? If not, go back to the drawing board. Be sure to take into account the 3 planes of motion, what the team’s first drill of practice will be, and general fatigue level (where are they within the season and within the training week?).

Beginning this past Saturday, I’ve been standing on a soccer field for about 5 hours a day working hard on the start of, what is certain to be, a legendary sock/farmer’s tan combo. Regardless, that’s just a fantastic by-product of my point: We just started the preseason training time period for women’s soccer and I’ve put together several warm-ups I think are pretty darn good. I’m going to share the two I used on Monday, August 8th and point out a couple important things about the two of them:

AM Session (the 5th practice within 48 hours):

Team Jogs 1 Field Lap in two lines

Upon return have two lines split apart on the 18

(one line on end-line other line on 18, lines face)

65% Builder Sprint to Back Pedal (long reach)

• Walking Spiderman to Overhead Reach

• Yoga Pushup x5

• Skip backwards with Heel Lift

70% Builder Sprint to Gate Openers

• Knee Hugs

• Cross-behind Overhead Reverse Lunge x5/side

• Frankenstein Kicks

75% Builder Sprint to Walking Opposites

• Walking Quads

• Bowler Squat x5/leg

• Skip for Distance

80% Builder Sprint to Alternating Side Shuffle

• Walking Toe Touch

• Split-Stance Kneeling Adductor Rockbacks x5/side

• Cradle Walk

Lateral Broad Jump x3 to Turn & Sprint (both directions)

Stretch on Own

Notes:

• This practice was the tipping point for the team. At the time it started, it was the 5th practice they would be attending within 48 hours – that’s a lot of soccer in a short window!

• The previous two days had a portion of testing (think non-contact) that was significant enough that I knew they would still be feeling pretty good for this session.

• My warm-up “template” typically consists of 3 levels of warm-ups. One is fairly intense and is for pre-match or other situations when the group is fresh, the second is a mid-level warm-up that respects the training volume the team is currently enduring (or the point in the season), and the third is a very low-level warm-up that is appropriate for recovery and respects the teams general level of fatigue but still preps them for the drills to follow.

• The AM Session warm-up was a Level 2.

PM Session (the 6th practice within 54 hours):

Team Jogs 1 Field Lap in two lines

Upon return everyone grabs ball and circles up

Soccer Ball SMR :20-:30/location:

Calves

Hamstrings

Quads

Adductors

IT Band

Glutes

Squat Mobility Series x1

Team Lines up on Sideline:

2 Tuck Jumps to 65% Builder Sprint to Gateopeners

2 Tuck Jumps to 70% Builder Sprint to Frankensteins

2 Tuck Jumps to 75% Builder Sprint to Skip for Height

2 Tuck Jumps to 80% Builder Sprint to Alternating Side Shuffle

Stretch on Own

Notes:

• After a morning training session that lasted a full two-hours and was jam-packed with intense sprinting and full contact, I knew the team would be starting to get very sore and tired.

• I gave them as much time as I could (in this case only 8-minutes) to do some self-massage with the soccer ball and a mobility circuit before we started moving around to get the heart pumping.

• The PM Session warm-up was a Level 3.

Orchastrating an excellent warm-up day after day is certainly one of the less "sexy" aspects to the job of Strength & Conditioning Coach, but it is nonetheless extremely important. Keep in mind a solid dynamic warm-up on a regular basis is the opportunity to improve general fitness and work on power, strength, speed, change of direction, mobility, flexibility, and injury prevention... I think anyone would agree that's a great opportunity to have on a daily basis, so don't waste it by not planning properly!

As a side note, if you train with us in Fairfax, you may soon get to experience warm-ups similar to the AM session - did you hear we got TURF last week?!? If you don't already train with us and wish to experience the excellence that is SAPT, please contact us here for information on in-house performance coaching, distance coaching, Buttkamp, or any combination of the three!

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Announcements Sarah Walls Announcements Sarah Walls

Update: New Flooring! Your Feet (and Hands) Will Be Grateful.

This past Friday was a pretty exciting day for us. We received a shipment of two, 500lb rolls of turf, right at our doorstep. Well, actually, not at our doorstep, as the truck wasn't able to fit down the lane (we're located in an industrial complex); so Chris and I were stuck carrying the rolls off the truck, through the parking lot, and into SAPT. I'll pretend we did it flawlessly, and I'll also pretend that Chris didn't have to make up for being stuck with a guy that deadlifts >100lbs less than him. Needless to say, we spent the entirety of our office hours (11:30am-3pm, betwixt the morning and afternoon appointments), rearranging the facility and laying down the turf. The most tedious part of the entire process was getting rid of a giant sandbox we had in our facility:

Here it is halfway complete:

And, voila!

A special thanks to Carson and Trevor for helping out with the labor, too.

The turf is awesome for a few reasons:

  • We can finally utilize various bounding, sprinting, and various movement training drills that, before, weren't possible on the concrete.
  • It creates a larger lane for farmers walks, crawl variations, and sled pushes. *strokes evil beard*
  • The coaches don't develop a minor case of plantar fasciitis each week from standing on concrete all day.

This was especially exciting for the SAPT staff, as turf is something we've obviously desired for a long time, but haven't been able to prioritize it. Being a small business and a true start-up (no investors, etc.), we've haven't had the luxury of buying copious amounts of equipment and "toys" from the get-go. As such, we didn't initially purchase the turf because:

  1. It's crazy expensive
  2. It wasn't necessary to have in our facility in order to deliver results.

Heck, when SAPT first opened, the freaking power racks (a staple in most gyms) didn't even arrive for a few months due to a delay in shipment. All SAPT had to work with was a couple tires, medicine balls, towels, kettlebells, and a **ladder. Nonetheless, we continued to grow in the midst of a struggling economy (in which people were cutting out their "luxuries," including gym memberships), bring in more clientele, and deliver results to the athletes and adults that trained with us because the gym equipment doesn't really matter.

In fact, in the past two years alone, we've seen multiple performance centers go out of business in the northern Virginia area, despite the fact that they were able to open with all the turf, TVs (really???), ropes, sleds, machines (again, really???), free weights, and square footage imaginable. Eric Cressey actually just discussed this very topic in his recent article: Why the Gym's Out-of-Business and the Porn Store's Thriving.

Delivering results and creating a favorable training environment has never been and never will be about the equipment, toys, and gimmicks available. A good coach can run an awesome training session with the use of only the person's bodyweight. A bonus would be to throw in a sturdy resistance band and medicine ball!

There's really no substitute for a coach that possesses genuine care and sincerity for his or her craft, and also knows how to get it done. This means giving the clients what they need, individualized to each person's strengths/weaknesses, treating them as an actual person (as opposed to a means to an end), and giving them an enjoyable experience in the process.

Anyway, I say all this because, while turf would be included in many training facilities from the start, we went pretty long without it. As such, it makes it all the more exciting, and I love appreciating the things that are often taken for granted.

So, to those of you that train with us (and didn't come in over the weekend), enjoy the sensation of soft, luxurious grass under your feet the next time you walk in!

**The ladders were used for pullups (by grabbing one of the rungs). No, I'm not kidding.

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