Tips for recovery, protein recipes & view party

Hi Peak Performer!

I've got a story to share with you.

And it goes back to when Alexandra and I were engaged and planning out our wedding.

First we had to decide on a date. Since we were having a traditional church wedding and Kelowna is pretty incredible in the summer we wanted to pick a date that would allow as many as possible to attend.

It's kind of weird to think of planning this kind of event in today's world. Inviting over 150 people to gather in close proximity, coming from all parts including international.

Anyways once the date was set as July 4 we went to work on booking a venue, caterer, photographer, videographer, rehearsal dinner, transportation, room blocks for visiting guests...

You get the point.

There are a lot details that go into planning a wedding.

And we wanted to book someone to handle the music and entertainment. So we met with a few DJs and looked into having a band play a few sets during the entertainment.

One of the DJs fancied them self as the most important piece of the entire day. Having them as part of our wedding was going to make everything more fun, more memorable and would just not be the same without having them be a part of it.

There was just one problem.

And it wasn't their exorbitant fee to rent their equipment and have them play recorded music on it at the reception for a few hours.

It was that our date didn't work for them. And the solution was for us to change the date to accommodate the DJ.

Never mind all of the other pieces to this puzzle that would have to be changed in order to make a new date work, there was the fact that all of the invitations had July 4 as the 'save the date'.

Guests coming from out of town had made flight, hotel and car rental reservations.

Everything else was booked.

Time off for work had been requested and approved.

Everything was set, except for the DJ, who was asking us to change the date.

As great as it would have been to have them play the chicken dance and macarena at our reception we had to go with another option.

So what does this have to with your health, fitness and performance?

Well, you need to have some non-negotiables when it comes to your goals.

By non-negotiables I mean things that won't help you achieve the best result. And that you're not willing to bend on.

I won't get less than 7 hours of sleep at night.
I won't drink liquid calories.
I won't miss training more 3 days per week.
I won't skip breakfast.

It doesn't mean these things will never happen.

There will be weekends when we go out and get to bed a little later. And there will be meals accompanied by a glass of wine or a beer. Sometimes meals could get skipped or delayed.

But this is less than 5% of the time.

95% of the time we need to follow the plan and stay the course.

We need to know our non-negotiables from the on-set. And then make plans and put systems in place to execute accordingly.

But if we don't know what the plan is, it can be pretty hard to stick to it. And it will be much harder to say no to other opportunities that come our way.

Unfortunately we are fed a marketing message that we need to go all out with our training, that we need to create severe caloric deficits and that success only comes if we say no to every fun time and indulgence.

This isn't the case.

Instead figure out what your non-negotiables are i.e. 8 hours of sleep, training 3-4 days per week, minimizing liquid calories, and then aim to achieve this 95% of the time with a 5% buffer for planned parties/vacations etc or when needed.

Other news to share...

1. Olympic Viewing Party - Friday August 6 (230-6 pm)

So you know when the DJ asked Alexandra to change the date of our wedding for them?

Well, I'm made a similar request to the Japan Olympic committee.

Initially we learned Malindi would race on August 7th at 3 pm. And we booked a venue and made appropriate arrangements.

And the race is on August 7th, in Japan. In Kelowna the race will take place August 6th (Friday) at 3 pm.

I'm not holding my breath for the Olympic organizers to change the date for us.

Although I think there would be a better chance of that happening than Alexandra changing the date of our wedding.

2. Tips for Recovery

Have you ever heard the following expression?

You're not over-trained, you're under-recovered.

Even if you feel like you're good in this department, here's a short video that might help:

Video #5: Recover Like a Champ - YouTube

Malindi and I shot this as part of series to help runners stay injury-free and run faster. All athletes will benefit however.

Give it a watch and then subscribe to catch future content.

3. Recipes for Protein

A number of our clients have tried and are now using the New Zealand whey or vegan blend protein.

But besides putting your protein in a smoothie how else can you work this into your nutrition?

Coach Trevor L put the following together for some of the clients and we wanted to share these with you.

Protein Pancakes:

INGREDIENTS
* 2 bananas
* 2 eggs
* 3 scoops of vanilla protein
* 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
INSTRUCTIONS
1. add the banana to a blender and blend on low until broken down (not completely smooth).
2. add the egg, protein powder, and cinnamon and blend on low until smooth.
3. heat a non-stick pan over medium-low (i find it sticks to stainless steel!)
4. spray the pan with olive oil and then add 1/4 cup of the batter.
5. when the pancake starts to bubble flip over.
6. repeat with the rest of the batter.
7. top with pure maple syrup!

Greek Yogurt Berries
1/2 cup Greek Yogurt
1/2 scoop protein powder
1/2 - 1 cup of berries
1 tbsp honey

Smoothies:

¾ cup fat-free milk
½ ripe banana
½ cup frozen raspberries
½ cup frozen blueberries
1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
5 ice cubes
284 calories, 27 g protein, 42 g carbs, 7 g fiber, 2 g fat

Oatmeal:

* 1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats
* 1 cup water
* 1/2 banana sliced (optional)*
* pinch of sea salt
* 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon + 1/2 teaspoon vanilla optional
* 1 scoop protein powder
* Your favorite toppings

INSTRUCTIONS
* Add oats, banana slices and sea salt to a pot. Add water and stir to combine. Add cinnamon and vanilla, if using. Heat over medium-high heat for 8-10 minutes or until all the liquid has been absorbed. Be sure to stir the oats several times while cooking to make sure the banana slices melt into the oats. You'll know the oatmeal is done when all the liquid is absorbed and the oats are thick and fluffy.

* Remove oats from the heat and stir in protein powder. If the consistency of the oats gets too thick, add in a little more water or milk. Transfer oats to a bowl and top with your favorite oatmeal toppings. I used chocolate chips, peanut butter and bananas. Hope you enjoy these. Have fun this weekend. And Go Canada Go! Chris