Take 60% of your 1 rep max back squat,
Perform 10 sets x 10 reps @ 60%, rest 90 seconds between sets
Add 10# from last week if all 10 sets were successful. If not, remain at same weight until all 10 sets are completed unbroken.
Post weights to comments and BTWB
Throwback Thursday post brought to you by a Verve alum.
The 411 on Nightshades By Tiffany Skidmore
Nightshades may not be a familiar term to many. However, the negative affects of eating the vegetables in the Nightshade family are becoming very well known as increasingly greater numbers of Westerners experience them: arthritis, gastro-reflux disease, auto-immune diseases such as psoriasis and lupis, osteoporosis, and pain in joints, bones, gums, and teeth.
What are Nightshades?
Nightshades include the following frequently consumed veggies: tomatoes, white potatoes, eggplant, and all peppers with the exception of black pepper. Other toxic members of this plant family are tobacco, poisonous belladonna, mandrake, and jimson. Nightshades are a relatively recent addition (within 400 years) to the Western diet. Tomatoes and potatoes were regarded with caution when they first appeared in Europe as many believed them to be poisonous. Historically, Nightshades have been used in witchcraft, as ingredients in narcotic medicines and sleeping pills, and even as murderous poison.
What is so important about Nightshades?
If you are interested in maintaining strong joints, bones, and neuromuscular system, keep reading. If you have arthritis, auto-immune disease, or suffer from chronic pain, this is for you!
Nightshades contain high levels of alkaloids which have been reported to result in the excretion of calcium, minerals, and other trace elements from the bones. Nightshades also contain high levels of nicotine (solanine) which acts as acetylcholinesterase inhibitors in the body. As a frame of reference, other acetylcholinesterase inhibitors are used as pesticides. Simply put, higher levels of solanine in the body can result in an overstimulation of nerve endings, muscle weakness, hypertension, and muscle twitches.
Many nutritionists now recommend that people suffering from any type of bone and joint pain and/or auto-immune diseases eliminate Nightshades completely from their diet. Overwhemingly, the majority who do, report reduced and even the disappearance of symptoms.
Why do we crave Nightshades?
Tomatoes and potatoes contain high levels of potassium and are largely expansive foods. Many Westerners crave these foods as a way to maintain a balance within their bodies while consuming a diet that consists of very high levels of sodium and constrictive fatty, dense proteins (cheese, dairy, and processed meats). By pairing these foods, the body is striving to maintain a balance and ease digestion. In other words, making the best of a bad situation.
We can make our bodies’ job easier by eating mostly vegetables (minus Nightshades for some), lean meat and fish, some fruit, nuts and seeds. As we eliminate the harmful foods from our bodies, cravings tend to disappear as the body moves towards a state of homeostasis where diet is not longer ruled by cravings, but by the ultimate goal of wellness.
Only time will tell…
Researchers say that for some, the results of eliminating Nightshades may take six to twelve weeks to appear. Changing your diet may very well be one of the hardest things to do. However, this is the one most controllable factor in a person’s journey towards health. If you are experiencing pain, give up Nightshades and see how it may help you! If you are recovering from an injury, keep in mind that a Nightshade-free diet has been shown to improve cartilage repair. For those not experiencing illness, remember that prevention is the key. Lino Stanchich, Macrobiotic Educator and Licensed Nutritionist states, “If you wish to have the strongest body possible, then reduce, avoid, or eliminate nightshades.”
As always, you know best what works for you. Why not experiment? Try going six weeks without Nightshades in your diet and log what happens. Whatever your results, let us know!
