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A while back I was reading an interview with Lance Armstrong in which he mentioned his diet and fitness regime. The interviewer asked the basic question about what he did to stay in shape now he has retired. His response was on the lines of “run, bike, occasionally go to the gym, anything to just earn that dinner“ this struck a cord  and made me, I realized that in this day and age the old habit of earning a dinner through a hard workout or a long days labor has  gone. Rarely will you see someone earn a dinner.

It Tastes Better

I find food, whatever your eating whether it be healthy food or junk tastes much better when you  earn it. Remember the last time you had a slice of watermelon or some cold ripe fruit after a hard run or playing a sport, the sensation is amazing, a lot of people haven’t experienced it since they were kids.

When eating comes around feel it is our nature to over eat and indulge occasionally especially in social environments. Therefore its important that we do not deprive ourselves of feasts of food and alcohol, of course they should be kept in moderation but there is a key to working them into your life and enjoying the food.

One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.  ~Luciano Pavarotti

We Handle It Better

When we work out our body adapts in several different ways firstly your insulin sensitivity increases this basically means that your body will shuttle energy (food) into your muscles for recovery rather than into fat cells. This improved sensitivity lasts for up to 15 hours so rest assured your morning workout will still be having an effect come dinner time.

If you do resistance work (training with weights) your body will have a reason to put those extra calories to good use. An intense resistance session like that seen in a circuit style weights workout will break down muscle making it want to grow back bigger/stronger making it even more likely your food will go to good use.

On top of this a workout elicits a hormonal response from your body, which includes the release of  human growth hormone and testosterone, making you feel good and literally letting it burn through food, turning your body temporarily into a fat burning furnace.

So what can we learn from this?

If your going to go and have a huge meal or socialize with friends and family don’t be the don’t be they guy who doesn’t want that extra bud light, or slice of pizza. Just earn it! I am not talking about binging every-night but when I do I earn my food/drink and I indulge.

You can go about this is two different ways firstly my favorite way is to-do a hardcore workout before dinner. This will usually happen around 4-5 in the evening if I am scheduled to have dinner at 7-8PM. This workout can be done anywhere all you need is a pair of running shoes and some time;

• Get a good mix or playlist pumping on your iPod and hit the road and run for 30-40 minutes
• In this time aim for 100-200 reps depending on fitness level of a mix of a mix of Push-ups/Squats/Dips/Pull-ups/Lunges/Sprints (Count 100m sprints as 5 reps)
• Enjoy it play around and get endorphins pumping keep telling yourself to earn that dinner!
• Have a cold shower eat some fruit/nuts if hungry and head out to socialize and have fun.
• I will usually do some fasted cardio or prolong a IF session the next morning this is nice to cleanse the system.

Doing this will not only allow you to burn up your food it will also release feel good hormones making your more sociable.

If you aren’t lucky enough to have the time to exercise before the dinner make sure you have done an intense workout within the last 15 hours, ideally have your muscles slightly sore so you know the food is going to good use.

Makes you stronger

I am not advocating a bad diet, but I realize we have lives to live and from time to time feel like eating whatever we want, just kicking back and forgetting about eating like a caveman. You will probably find that after your splurge you have more dedication to eat well anyway so it will benefit you in the long run, It makes me far more dedicated to eat well.

So my challenge to you is next time you are going on a big social outing or want to treat yourself, earn that dinner.

Speaking of making us stronger, I highly recommend anyone who hasn’t read Lance Armstrong’s Its not About the Bike A truly inspirational book and well worth your time.

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