AthleticFoodie Sweet Potatoes

The newest edition to the AthleticFoodie series of healthy living segments!

Gearing Up for the Big Meals

Q: "hey Garrett. I know you're probably busy and you probably can't post anything before tomorrow (Thanksgiving) but do you have any tips as to how we can prepare healthier meals and eat healthier this Thanksgiving and Christmas season? Thanks so much!"

A: So here's the deal. Some people get crazed about the Holiday season thinking about what they're going to eat. Some people just say, "screw it I'm going to eat whatever I want and I'll get back in shape for my New Year's resolution." From my experience in watching people work out after the holidays...they rarely get back in the gym and work off the pounds they put on.

Check out these tips:

First, remember the word 'moderation'! Sometimes I think our society has lost sight of it. One or two cookies, not ten.

Second, eat big ON the holidays, NOT every day in between them. Think about that, depending upon what you celebrate that gives you two or three days to let it rip.

Third (holidays or not) save your indulgences for the unbelievably good stuff. Don't pig out on junk food or at every average meal.

Finally, do what I do when you're sitting down for that festive Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas feast...go for it! It's only one meal.

Golden Goggles

A night to recognize the athletes, coaches and staff members of the USA Swimming National Team....what a good idea! Golden Goggles has been accomplishing this task for the past six years with great success. USA Swimming and the USA Swimming Foundation have created a wonderful night where everyone comes together to celebrate the year's accomplishments. It was once again a true honor for me to be invited and as always I had a great time.

The night began with a reception of appetizers, drinks and socializing. There is a 'Gold' carpet area where media takes pictures and does interviews with the athletes and guests. Once everyone makes it into the ballroom all the athletes and coaches get announced as they walk out on stage in pairs of two. Dan Hicks (one of the Olympic swimming announcers) conducted the evening and gave a small speech. Dinner begins. Each table is hosted by an athlete or coach. Most tables consist of fans, donors, or big USA Swimming supporters. I love being able to talk with everyone and share the wonderful experiences of the National team with them. After dinner a hip-hop dance group performed prior to the eight awards being given out.

The highlight of my night came when Eddie Reese won the 'Coach of the Year' award. For those of you who don't know...Eddie has been my coach since the fall of 2003. He has taught me more about myself and about swimming than any other coach ever could have. Although we've had our ups and downs I truly love Ed and know he can (and has) take me wherever I want to go in the sport of swimming. The truth about Eddie Reese is this...he's the most successful coach in the world because first and foremost he cares about his athletes as people first and understands the importance of guiding us to be successful and confident individuals in life before swimming. Watching Ed walk up on stage and accept the award I was incredibly proud. He deserves that award more than anyone and was, in typical Eddie fashion, as gracious in accepting it than anyone ever could be.

I'm one lucky dude...Eddie Reese, Kris Kubik, Golden Goggles...and now home for Thanksgiving...what could be better!

AthleticFoodie Oatmeal Cookies

This is one of my AthleticFoodie segments which airs on the TV show Wisconsin Foodie, Sundays at 10:30am on CBS 58. Please let me know what you think!

Some Good Leg Work

Finally my body is beginning to reach the fitness level I've been looking for. Training the past month and a half has been pretty tough. Working hard in the weight-room and pool gives my mind and body a large load to deal with. At times it can be difficult to gauge where my fitness and strength are at because I am broken down. However, here and there I have little glimmers that show me I'm going in the right direction. One of them came yesterday in the weight-room.

We have some machines in the weight-room called CoreMax. This is revolutionary technology which allows us to explode through a weight upwards but not have to carry the full weight back down with us...if that makes sense. Yesterday was my day for legs...I did the CoreMax squats. This exercise allows me to push up from the bottom of the squat to the top and actually jump in the air with the weight but not worry about it coming down and crashing into me. I went heavy yesterday doing five sets of three reps. My last three reps were with 525 pounds on my shoulders. I'd done this weight at one point last season. Yesterday my velocity was not as high (the machine measures the velocity at which you push the weight up) as it had been last year...but I am getting there. Afterwards my legs actually felt great. I was really happy with what I had done and encouraged in moving forward. After practice and on my bike ride home...my legs definitely did not feel as good...

Patience...It's a Virtue!

Patience...while it IS a virtue...I've found it to be something that can at times be hard to find. With a society so based around instant gratification and 'the next best thing' it's easy to sometimes get dragged into this ideology as well. In general I certainly don't fall into that group, however, I do have my moments. My moments generally arise at times like at yesterday's practice. Long story short...I've been working my tail off in the weight-room and the pool for over a month. I'm getting more fit all the time but still haven't reached the level I'm looking for. Yesterday we did a set based on sheer speed. If speed was gold and I was a miner...my mine had been all used up. I was dead. What an unsatisfying practice.

Frustrated with my level of fitness I thought to myself, "I'm sick of waiting...I want it NOW." Eddie could tell I was having a hard time. After practice we talked and he reminded me that it takes time and grit. He said, "you're as good or better than anyone at that game...that's what you do...you grit it out." Suddenly a brisk breeze bellowed into my sails. At that moment I took a deep breath in and my body literally (literally) felt like it had just inhaled something magical...I had...it was the words of the one and only Eddie Reese. No one in the world could have had that affect on me other than Ed. He also said, "you gave it all you could and that's all you have right now. We'll string a whole good week of training together soon. We just need to stay at it." He's right. The season is young. I just need to be patient and take it one step at a time. Looking back at it now...my practice actually wasn't that bad. The truth is that I'm a perfectionist and my expectations and desire sometimes gets the best of me. I'm glad I have people around me that can help me keep my goggles clear and see what's really going on. Patience...it's a virtue!

Food Inc. "Do you know where your food comes from?"

How many times have we all said, "Oh I totally want to see that movie when it comes out" or "I can't wait to see that in theaters." This was true when I first saw the previews for the movie "Food Inc". As you can probably already guess...one thing lead to another, I traveled in Italy for a month and a half, was all over the US, and finally got back to Texas...without ever seeing Food Inc. Somehow this movie got brought up today in the weight-room and I was once again urged to watch. So I went and picked up a copy at the local video store. What I witnessed was truly amazing. Nothing was too graphic but rather painted a unique picture of the food we now call 'food' and where it comes from. If I had to take a bet...and I'm not a betting man...you will probably be quite surprised where much of your food comes from too, much like I was. Go rent Food Inc. Seriously

Speaking Recap

Practice really does make perfect. Saturday I spoke to a TON of people in Milwaukee at the 150 year anniversary of the Greater Milwaukee YMCA. Although I'm definitely not perfect at public speaking I'm getting better at it every time I speak. I love doing things and watching my progress as I keep working and get more and more experience at it. I find it exciting to see how every crowd is different, how my diction varies, and the rush I get from becoming enthusiastic and animated throughout the talk. The audience's response was great on Saturday night and gives me immense confidence moving forward!