Blog posts of '2015' 'April'
As most of you know, I competed at the RVA Open in the Invitational division a little over a week ago. While I was there, I had the pleasure to be a guest on The Movement Podcast with Jake and Matt. On this podcast we talk about how weird singlets are, what lifters intimidate me, and of course, Flexible Dieting. It was a ton of fun and I can't wait to chat again. Be sure to follow them on Instagram @movementrvapodcast!!
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You asked, I’m answering. May not be the answer you want or are looking for but here are my answers. If I did not answer your posted question, it was either a good question that I will save for a future blog post, or the question was just a waste of mine and everyone else’s time.
“Do you have to have your body fat measured with flexible dieting?” I think it’s a good idea to have when you first start out especially. You ought to know what your lean body mass is so when you set your macros up, you don’t set your protein too low. It’s not major to have, I can still set up clients’ macros without. I also don’t recommend using the handheld tests either. Talk about inaccuracy. Try testing your body fat with the bod pod or DEXA scan.
“Flexible Dieting and eating on dates with a new dude without looking weird.” Plan ahead. Check out the menu beforehand and plug in your meal, be sure to overestimate if you don’t want to bust out that scale at the table. However, who cares if you look weird. Mr. Right will accept your weirdness no matter what
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“What mascara do you use? Are those your real lashes?” I wear Ardell and Andre false eyelashes; the ones on that post last week were Andrea #45. I use Maybelline The Falsies Volum’ Express mascara in ‘brownish black.’
“Do you follow the Outlaw Way site program or do you use tailored programming?” The Way portion is too high volume for me as a weightlifter so I just follow the OBB part which is programmed by Mr. David Fleming. My boyfriend, Daniel Tyminski, programs for me though. He offers remote coaching and will be taking a new wave of clients after the Games this summer. Email him at Daniel.Tyminski@crossfitlindy.com
“How many hours per day do you train?” Average is two hours. In the morning I do the OBB strength portion which takes me an hour to an hour and a half, depends how slow I am moving. I go back to the gym late afternoon to work on accessories and maybe do an EMOM of a complex, which is typically just an hour. Two to three times a week I will do the WOD posted; if there’s muscle ups, snatches or handstand pushups, I’m doing it. Yes, I’m a cherry picker.
“How long have you been lifting?” I started CrossFit September 2012, I didn’t start being competitive until about a year later. August 2014, I sent Nicole Capurso a snatch pr video (we always send videos back and forth, to include SWELFIES lol) and she insisted that I register for a local meet because I could potentially qualify for the American Open. It took some convincing but I lifted at a local sanctioned meet a month later and qualified for the American Open as a 53kg lifter. I dropped weight to lift as a 48 and lifted in my first National meet (AO) in December 2014. So I have only been focused on weightlifting for seven months, yes, not even a year. So my friends, this should motivate you that it can happen anytime. How bad do you want it and how hard are you willing to work for it?
“Best way to get pullups.” For strict pullups, besides constant practice, you need to build strength and have decent mobility. If you start off with tight joints and muscles, you might be adding some stress attempting strict pullups. I suggest you check out http://www.livetheactivelife.com/ for mobility tips. For strength, do weighted ring rows and strict banded pullups, try to avoid the kip.
“Best way to gain weight while doing CrossFit with a Power Lifting emphasis” First thing you need to know is how many calories you’re burning in a day of training. Now add 500-1000 calories. You also need to make sure you’re making the smart food choices.
“Compression gear. Yeah or nah, and why?” I say hell yeah. They remove lactic acid faster, delivers oxygen to the muscles better, improves circulation, and it also accelerates recovery time. Right now you can get some awesome Skins compression pants on DoughnutandDeadlifts.com. Use my athlete code- LILRIKI and save 15%.
“Last minute cut for weigh ins” Yes, it happens. I can only speak from personal experience when it comes to last minute cutting before a meet. It’s only to drop the last kilo typically. I start a water cut six days out starting off at about 120 ounces and the day before I only have 20 ounces. I don’t like it, but I have taken scalding hot baths and that helped me drop half a pound in 20 minutes. Like I said, I don’t like the bath because I’m very claustrophobic and I easily panic, so submerging my entire body in boiling hot water is last resort. However, it’s much safer than a sauna. Salt baths, you are dehydrating your skin, saunas dehydrate your organs and make you feel like complete shit if you’re in there for too long—when you’re on a cut. You will recover and rehydrate quicker after weigh ins doing the bath than a sauna. This is last minute stuff though folks. Please please please be smart and use flexible dieting for cuts. Set realistic goals. It took me 4-5 months to drop 20 pounds for the 2014 American Open. It’s the safest way to cut, and I ate whatever I wanted, in moderation.
“Any extra benefits eating paleo while counting macros?” Totally. Don’t get me wrong, paleo is an excellent way to eat. In fact, the true practicing flexible dieters out there eat 80% paleo. Your micronutrients (vitamin and minerals) are just as important as hitting your macronutrients. You know very well if you follow a paleo lifestyle, you will indeed reach those micros.
“How young is too young to start flexible dieting, primarily to lose weight?” I do coach a handful of teens (13-17) using the flexible dieting approach. I have been given written consent by their guardians to be their “nutritional advisor.” The teens that I coach are active and competitive athletes. My competitive level athletes, I make sure they are consuming enough of the right nutrients to fuel their performance, we don’t necessarily have set macros. I tell them not to restrict themselves, they’re growing kids after all. For teens and weight loss, I do have a few and I have developed not only a close relationship with them, but I have one with their guardian. It’s all about trust and knowing who you’re working with. As long as you are helping a teen lose weight because their health is being compromised and you’re going to educate them with food, then I don’t see any problem with that.
There were so many great questions that I still want to answer, but I know I would go off on a tangent. I have written down a lot of your questions to turn in to blog posts; how to gauge refeeds, nutrient timing, supplementation, how to get over mental blocks, the list goes on. Be on the look out!
It seems these days everyone is a fitness and/or nutrition coach, and you don’t have to be certified to do so. You’ve got abs? Boom, coach! You qualified for the Reebok CrossFit Games Regionals? Coach. You cut a weight class in a few weeks? Mother facking coach status. I’m not going to lie, its easy money and anyone can do it. However, just because someone cut a whole weight class, doesn’t mean they should be coaching. Maybe it’s their passion, and well hell, you’ve gotta start somewhere. What is a fair price though?
As I stated in the beginning, it seems like everyone is a coach these days. They all charge differently too. Is it because of qualifications, certifications, or experience? It’s all of the above and then some. You can find coaches charging for macro setups ranging from $10 to$75. For custom macros setup, I charge $40, my monthly coaching is $65, and I do detailed nutrition planning for $100 per week (or $350 per month). “$100 per week? What the fucking fuck, Riki?!”
When I first started coaching, I coached for free. In fact, my first ever client was Regionals competitor and Miami Surge Gridder, Nicole Capurso. We’re good friends in real life and one day she text me to help her cut weight for a National weightlifting meet. I coached her for free because everything I did with her was trial and error; after all I had only been practicing the flexible lifestyle for three months at this point. Luckily I educated myself enough that we successfully cut her down a full weight class. And guess what, almost a year later she is still walking at competition weight and eats like a 300 pound man because we have successfully reversed her. After success with Nicole, I then began coaching some members at my gym, I charged them $20 flat for a macros setup and to help them along the way. Proud of everyone’s success with my help, I posted it on social media. Nicole even posted a blog about me helping her. That’s when the emails and social media messages started rolling in. My services were being requested from all over the world!
I have been living the flexible lifestyle for well over a year now, but I didn’t begin remote coaching until this past October. In the last six months, I have gained more experience working with all types of clients; autoimmune diseases, vegans, picky eaters, the list goes on. Since October, I have calculated well over 400 sets of macros, which does not include my monthly or weekly services. I have become a reputable coach and the demand for my expertise is high. I am a busy sponsored athlete and nutrition coach. My job as an athlete is to train and compete, it is literally in my contracts. My job as a nutrition coach is to make sure that my clients are successful flexible dieters, and that they reach their goals. My personal goal is to teach them how to properly fuel their body while reaching their own.
My detailed nutrition planning (the super expensive one) takes a lot of time, most of my day almost. I only take about 10 clients at a time for this. I don’t just go on Excel and give you a cookie cutter program; I literally go into your MFP account and use the foods that you eat daily because I don’t want you to fail. If you fail, I fail. As you can see on my ‘Products’ page, there is currently a waiting list for this program, because yes it’s that awesome. This is why I charge as much as I do.
There are definitely coaches out there that will fit your budget, and perhaps they have more time to spare. Ask yourself this though, “Why does a Mercedes Benz cost more than a Kia?” You get what you pay for. We “expensive” coaches don’t just pick a number out of our asses. Supply and demand.
I want to mention though, I do have a handful of clients that I am helping at no charge. I genuinely want to help people establish a better relationship with food. I also mentor aspiring coaches. If you are interested in a mentorship program, you can email me.