Bad food = bad workout

Saturday morning’s Combat Fitness (Jan. 14) was a typical Saturday class. It was tough, but it wasn’t the tricep-killing, back-breaking, dread-inducing Crazy 8 circuit that we had the week before. I wasn’t feeling particularly pumped up for class. Beers and bad food the night before gave me a poor night’s sleep and a lack of gusto. One of Mr. Stuart’s sayings is, “You fake it till you make it.” Meaning: even if you’re  feeling like you can't give it 100 percent, don’t skip the workout. You’re not going to be able to be a superhero every time you’re in the gym. So I faked it for the first half of class and by the second half I was feeling ok.

Even though I had a mediocre workout, it helped reinforce stuff I know about my diet. It’s become quite clear to me how what I eat affects my performance. Chicken wings, waffle fries, braised beef on a white flour bun, three beers and a shot of rum on Friday night does not contribute to a good Saturday morning workout. My typical diet consists of nuts, grass-fed turkey, Greek yogurt, salads, tuna, fruit, protein shakes, granola bars, coffee and lots of green tea. The momentary enjoyment I get from eating waffle fries does not justify the bad feeling I have to live with for hours afterward.

The Haganah class following Saturday’s Combat Fitness was unremarkable except for the elbow I took to my right bicep. We were practicing a scenario where a person has you gripped up by the collar of your shirt and throws an overhead punch at your face. The goal is to block the punch by raising your arm with it bent 90 degrees at the elbow. It was going great until I threw a punch that was too low and the boniest part of my partner’s elbow impacted my bicep. By Saturday night I couldn’t lift a glass of water.