CATZneedham athlete, and Needham native, Tory Waldstein is entering her second year at Harvard, but is doing so after a standout year as a freshman.
Carrying the obvious workload of being a student at Harvard, Tory managed to start 13 games for the Crimson, and ranking 5th on the team with 12 ground balls.
Congratulations to Tory on finishing up a great season, and good luck for many more to come!
-CATZneedham
Full Article Below…
If you have been in and around the facility in the last few months, then you have undoubtedly heard me rambling about how I am taking chemistry courses to learn more about nutrition at the most basic level. I know for certain my fellow coaches are sick of hearing me talk about it, and if you have heard as well, then you most likely feel the same way. However, after giving it some thought, I started to think about what exactly chemistry is. A past professor of mine said that if I could remember one thing about chemistry, it should be that all of chemistry, and life, is about positives (+), and negatives (-), and how we keep them in balance.
It is important to keep in mind that I am not using the words positive and negative in the way you may think. So for the sake of this blog, don’t think of positive as good, and negative as bad. Just think of them as two different sides of an equation.
Moving on……
Think about all of the features CATZneedham offers as one side of the equation. Great coaching and program design, concise and easy-to-follow nutrition consulting, a very knowledgeable Physical Therapy staff, and a very professional massage therapy and laser hair removal center. Now, think about your life, and all of its entities as the other side of the equation. Do these two parts of the equation balance out? If not, then you are most likely using the services at CATZ as way to bring yourself back to balance, or in this case, optimal health. If they do balance each other out, then you are living a healthy, well-balanced life, and I’m jealous.
Lets think about the program design at CATZ in terms of its chemistry. Building a strong exercise program is one of the most important aspects of training in general. Bad design can lead to injury, imbalances, and deficiencies in strength, power, endurance, or speed. CATZ however, is very attentive to keeping everything in balance by providing a variety of workouts consisting of exercises and sequences that promote improvement in all of the previously mentioned areas of training.
Nutritionally, I think we can all agree that we need to eat better to rid ourselves of deficiencies and any other issue we may encounter along the way. Most people don’t eat right at their own admission, and it is because of that why having the nutrition service at CATZneedham is so important. The major theme of the nutrition planning is that eating absolutely perfect is not sustainable, nor is it enjoyable. On the flip side, eating nothing but junk is not going to do you any favors either. We need BALANCE! CATZ Nutrition helps you build good chemistry (balance) between eating in a way that is very healthy, and moments where having a treat are ok too.
I am going to assume you know why Physical Therapy is so important, but if you don’t, here we go. Whether you’re rehabbing an injury, or trying to prevent one from happening, PT at CATZneedham is here to help. For instance, if you are having knee pain, it would be beneficial for to see our PT staff to make sure that knee pain does not escalate into hip pain, then back pain and so on. Making consistent trips to see Laura will enable you to stay in balance, while also getting your recommended daily allowance of singing and dancing too!
Lastly, lets look into what you are more familiar hearing when it comes to chemistry; the chemistry between people, or in this case the CATZ staff. We are a very dynamic group with many different personalities and strengths, which inevitably balances each other out giving you the great product you experience on a regular basis at CATZneedham.
So, if you grew up hating chemistry and never wanted to see it again, realize now that you are a part of it each and every day at CATZ!
NSB
One of the biggest reasons people fail at staying on track with their eating plan is that they don’t know how to plan ahead. Or, don’t want to put the effort in to plan ahead. I agree completely that it is time consuming to plan meals for the week, grocery shop for those foods, cook the food, then package those meals so that they are at your fingertips for the week. What I don’t agree with is when most people look at a situation such as this, and look the other way and say it’s not worth it. I can tell you with 100% certainty that the time spent preparing healthy and satisfying meals will not only help you stay on track and reach your ideal body, but it will cause you less stress during the week knowing you have food ready at home or work.
The first step in making this whole thing work, is writing down what you want to eat during the week. As simple as this may be, it will give you direction at the grocery store so that you don’t wonder off to the aisles we do not speak off. Also, it’s never a good thing to grocery shop hungry, or without a plan. If you’ve ever done this, you know why. Once you have a plan on what you want to eat, follow your list as to what you need and nothing more, this will also prevent over eating.
Grocery shopping in general can be difficult because of all the flashy food boxes and claims made on the packaging, but since you have a list/plan, none of this will affect you. If you find yourself being attracted to an aisle full on junk, keep in mind how hard you’ve worked and that no food is worth ruining your progress. These junk food aisles are typically located in the middle of the store with the most popular items being at eye level. Stay on the perimeter of the store so that your tempted by fruits, veggies, lean meats, and dairy as opposed to refined and processed crap.
Once you’re home with all your good food, the fun can begin. You are only limited by your creativity when it comes to cooking healthy. It’s not all about boiled chicken and brussel sprouts when it comes too healthy eating. In fact, I have a whole CATZ Kitchen cookbook dedicated to nutritious and delicious foods made healthy! When cooking, I advise cooking in bulk, (so you have food for at least 3 days) then tupperwaring it. Grilling, baking, steaming, roasting, sautéing are all great options as ways to prepare your food. Again, cook what you need and nothing more. This will prevent you from over eating.
Once the cooking stage is over, Tupperware your food and put it in the fridge. Now, when you’re ready to go to work the next morning, you simply pack your Tupperware for the day, and off you go. Stress free, care free, and bad food free.
Here is an example of what I do pretty much everyday:
Morning: Apple pre-workout, shake post workout.
Mid Morning- 1 bag of original oatmeal with 3 egg whites
Lunch: lean meat with ½ sweet potato and veggies
Mid Afternoon: handful nuts and 1 piece fruit
Dinner: Lean meat with veggies
The best thing about this is that I never think about food other than what I have. I never have the urge to go out and get food because I don’t want to waste the food I spent time cooking. Not to mention the food I have is a much better option.
I personally guarantee that prepping your food in this manner will pay off dividends in the short and long term for your health and body. It takes more time I agree, but you’ll be thankful you spent that time on it in the end.
NSB
There is still time for pre-season training!
Do you want to breeze through try-outs?
Do you want to impress your coach?
Make varsity?
Blow away the competition for your position?
Here is a great opportunity!
You still have a few more weeks to prepare yourself for fall sports pre-season practices and tryouts. The staff at CATZ can help you “cram” and get ready to put your best foot forward.
If you have been training all summer…terrific. We can help you fine tune.
If not, we still have a short window to get you in shape.
Here is a link to our summer schedule CATZ Summer Training Schedule
Give us a call today (781) 449-2289 and schedule your training sessions.
The CATZ Staff
Vitamin C is arguably the most popular vitamin people consume to prevent and cure the common cold. Although there are numerous benefits to consuming Vitamin C, curing and preventing the common cold is not one of them. Instead, you should consume vitamin C for its antioxidant actions, connective tissue health, and prevention of scurvy, ARGHHHH.
Vitamin C is also known as ascorbic acid, and can be found almost anywhere as an over the counter cure for pretty much everything, including cancer. I am not educated enough on the effects of vitamin C to comment on whether or not it helps with cancer patients, but what I do know is that consuming it daily can help you live a healthier life.
Since many of you reading this are most likely avid workout participants, you should know that exercising results in free radicals being released into your bloodstream. Free radicals for those who don’t know are reactive compounds that can damage our bodies from the cellular level, all the way up to our skin by making us look older than we are. Vitamin C, which is a very strong antioxidant, lends a helping hand to combat the affects of the free radicals, while protecting other vitamins from harmful reactions as well.
Contrary to popular belief, vitamin C ‘s more important job is in the connective tissue and collagen health department then it is on the immune system. Collagen is the major protein that makes up our connective tissue, and is a vital piece in cartilage, bone, skin, tendons, and ligaments. Vitamin C also helps give cartilage its strength and elasticity, while helping to formulate scar tissue. Lets think for a second where scar tissue is found. Scar tissue is found near wounds, and aids in the healing process. That said, with vitamin C helping in the formation process of scar tissue, we could deduce that vitamin C helps to heal wounds. Therefore, if you, or someone you know has been injured, or has joint issues, then I would recommend to them to increase their vitamin C consumption.
This last section is for those modern day pirates out there, or to people who don’t eat fruits and veggies. If you can think back to those history classes way back you can probably remember how pirates or other sea travelers would suffer from a vitamin C deficient disease known as scurvy. Scurvy is basically the result of being so low on vitamin C that your teeth fall out. So I guess its not that bad if you hate brushing your teeth!
If you smoke, take aspirin on a daily basis; take steroids, or antidepressants, then it is suggested to increase your dosage of vitamin C. You can get your vitamin C from a variety of fruit with citrus being the most popular. (Oranges, Grapefruits, lemons, limes.) Other foods that are terrific sources of vitamin C are asparagus, kiwi, broccoli, kale, peppers, tomatoes, and cauliflower to name a few.
So if you didn’t know how much vitamin C can help you recover, stay healthy, and prevent you from losing your teeth, now you know. If you do not currently eat a lot of fruit and veggies, then I suggest you start, or, if you don’t like those types of food, then researching a quality vitamin C supplement to take is your next best thing to prevent a deficiency.
NSB
Reference:
Busch, F., Health and Wellness Reference Library. Smart Nutrition: The Essential Vitamin, Mineral & Supplement Reference Guide. 2002. Pages 36-39
CATZneedham athlete Mike Stone, and CATZhingham athlete Kevin Buchanan participated in the MLL All-Star game trick shot event last week. Kevin won the event for the second year in a row.
Below is the link to the highlights.
http://www.majorleaguelacrosse.com/youtube-video/91/2013-allstar-game-skills-competition-highlights/
Congratulations to both these CATZ athletes on their All-Star selection.
Nutrient of the Week: Vitamin A
If you frequently eat red, yellow, and orange peppers, kale, or exotic fruit, then you most likely have good levels of Vitamin A.
Vitamin A is a fat-soluble nutrient, which means it can only be absorbed if your diet contains fat. Vitamin A is found in two different forms. The first being retinol which is found in animal foods, and the second more popular form is beta-carotene which is seen in plant foods.
Why do I need Vitamin A?
Being deficient in any nutrient will inhibit your body’s ability to perform and recovery properly. However, overdosing on vitamins will lead to them to reach toxic levels, and can cause all sorts of damage including vomiting, nausea, and blurred vision. Also, your teeth and bones require appropriate levels of vitamin A, especially during childhood and puberty.
Anything else?
YES! Just like we just discussed how you need more vitamin A during infancy and puberty, research indicates you may need more vitamin A if you have diabetes, gout, or liver disease.
There are many foods that are either naturally high in vitamin A, and foods that have been fortified with vitamin A. Some of the best foods that naturally have vitamin A include: carrots, kale, peppers, spinach, sweet potatoes, and cantaloupe. Milk, margarine, and some cereals are examples of foods that are fortified with vitamin A.
Summary:
The takeaway message here is to make sure you are consistently consuming some of the foods mentioned above to make sure you’re attaining the adequate amount of vitamin A per day. Lastly, make sure to store these types of foods in cool areas without a lot of light because heat and light can cause the vitamin A levels in foods to decrease.
NSB
Reference:
Busch, F., Health and Wellness Reference Library. Smart Nutrition: The Essential Vitamin, Mineral & Supplement Reference Guide. 2002. Pages 32-35
If you have been at CATZneedham in the last few months, you have undoubtedly noticed our large Truestar Health nutritional product table located near the front door. In the event that you have NOT noticed, CATZneedham has partnered with Truestar Health, which is a high quality nutritional supplement company. Truestar offers the #1 rated vitamins in North America to go along with their 100% Whey Isolate protein which offers the highest quality and availability.
Did I mention that you’re able to consume this type of whey even if your lactose-intolerant??
With all this being said, this coming Monday, the 15th, CATZneedham will be giving away free sample smoothies for your post workout recovery drink.
Wait, there’s more!
Ask any staff member about our free energy packets!
See you Monday!
NSB
CATZneedham athlete, Boston Breaker, and US Womens National Team member Sydney Leroux was name the National Womens Soccer League’s, Player of the week for the second time this season.
Leroux scored three goals in the last two games for the Breakers as they claimed 4 points out of a possible 6 during week 13.
Congratulations to Sydney and the Breakers!
Insulin could potentially be the most important thing to understand as a person who wants to look good and perform better. Not keeping insulin on your side will undoubtedly delay the results you’re working hard to achieve. Lets first define what insulin is and where it comes from.
Insulin is a hormone that is secreted by the pancreas in response to eating food. A high body fat percentage and a diet high in carbohydrates will result in high levels of insulin in the blood. If blood insulin levels are consistently high for a number of years, you could become insulin resistant which inevitably leads to Diabetes.
Folks who generally have a high carbohydrate diet and do not exercise often will become insulin resistant like I mentioned above. On the contrary, people who have a high protein and low carbohydrate diet will in fact become sensitive to insulin making it much easier to build muscle and not fat. Keep in mind as well that after a workout, muscle cells are extra sensitive to insulin, making it a prime time for protein synthesis and recovery.
Other aspects of your life where you can increase insulin sensitivity are in your diet. A high protein and low carbohydrate diet that is loaded in fiber can increase sensitivity, while a diet high in fat and low in carbohydrates can actually decrease sensitivity.
Insulin also increases the following things in your body:
-Protein Synthesis
-Amino Acid Transport
-Glucose Uptake (energy uptake)
-Muscle Glycogen Storage (energy storage)
Insulin will also play a role in decreasing the rate at which protein is broken down, and decreases the amount of cortisol released.
This is information that provides you with a working knowledge on how to achieve your goals if you have been having trouble. Keeping insulin on your side by consuming low glycemic carbohydrates like oatmeal, brown rice, fruit, veggies, and beans will all ensure you stay insulin sensitive.
Reference:
Ivy., J., Portman., R. The Future of Sports Nutrition: Nutrient Timing. 2004. pgs 26-30.
NSB
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