3 Ways to Help Undo your Rockstar Weekend

 Were you a Rockstar this weekend?

Rolling around downtown like you were Kid Rock after a sold out show.  That was you, right?

Unless that was you giving the groom-to-be the time of his life until last call?

Or maybe you were the life of the party, dancing, singing, and attempting to limbo with the 14 year olds?

Well, maybe it was just the buffet line at Chef Wang's...

Regardless, all I have to ask is: How's that feeling about now? Exactly, LOL. Not only does it hurt, it makes you feel like a fat, bloated, lethargic, whale.  Just what you were looking for on a Sunday, right?  Well, I could spend the rest of this article lecturing you on the whole pre-planning, not over-doing it, better choices, blah blah blah...  But what's done is done.

Now it's time to look past what happened, and time to start gaining some ground.  Depending on the level you fell off the wagon will depend how best to get you back on.  Below are the 4 things I would do if I woke up in your shoes and just wanted to feel better. 

1. Begin the Payback, don't Wallow in it

Pretty sure wallow is a Southern term through and through.  It means, don't sit and take stock of your current situation; get up and move.  Having a pity party for yourself doesn't help you and will only serve to make you feel worse.  It will even allow you to continue your misbehavior. STOP

Grow up, be an adult, and let's make a plan of action to get you some traction.  This step is the most crucial of any Payback program you choose.  Without it, the suggestions below will fail.

2. If you drank too much:

It's all fun and games when the beer is flowing and the shots start happening, but by 2am you're full as a bull with beer, and Jell-O shots should have been left to the Frat house.  Rising with a hangover, your best bet for getting yourself 'right' is probably the easiest of the choices.

Straight Cardio

With the excess alcohol that may still be in your system, and the by-products that have built up in your body, it's the safest, most effective thing to do.  Steady-state cardio over a prolonged period of time will help to raise your body temperature enough to induce sufficient sweat; allowing the toxins, salts, and other by-products to evaporate out from the skin.

Additionally, the consistency of the movement will help ensure your safety as well.  The last thing you want to do with a substantial hang over is to include a variety of movements and risk dangling a heavy weight over your face.  That definitely would ruin a day...

3. If you over-ate (especially large amounts of carbohydrates such as pasta, rice, potatoes, tortillas, etc):

Man that hibachi grill is good.  It's a mountain of food followed by another mountain of food.  Tons of protein, tons of what used to be vegetables, and finally, TONS of excess carbohydrates.  It's not uncommon (if you eat the whole thing) to ingest upwards of 3500 calories in one sitting!  That's equivalent to a POUND of body weight!

Or maybe your poison was the Never-Ending Pasta Bowl at the Olive Garden.  Tons of Red Sauce, White Sauce, Breadsticks, and Tortellini.  Mmmmmmmmmmmmm......

The runners of the world would tell you that eating like that is nothing more than a 'carb load', and is the perfect fuel for a good long distance run.  They are not wrong, but they are also not putting all that excess energy to the best use.  While it's true that running uses excess carbohydrates in the form of glycogen, it is not the primary fuel source for a long distance run.

Body fat is.

Carbs that have been stored for the short term in muscle tissue--glycogen--are best used in high intensity, lactic acid generating activities.  So, you best bet is:

Traditional Weight Training or Sprints

If you choose to train with weights, keep your rest time to 90 seconds or under. This helps to ensure proper depletion of the carbs from your body.  Use 60 - 80% of your maximum weight lifted and keep your repetitions between 8 & 12.  Simple science on that one boys and girls.  Make sure it takes about an hour and you'll have undone a lot of the carb overload damage.

If you choose to sprint, make sure your runs are 80 - 100% of your max speed for between 30sec and 1 minute. If you just want to think about distance--a quarter mile is a good starting point.  Also, make sure your rest time is roughly 3x what your work time is.  That will give your body enough time to recover, remove the excess lactic acid, reload the remaining carbs and let you go to work again.

4. If you were a dessert maniac (Oreos, Ice Cream, Cream Cheese, Cake, Cinnamon Rolls, basically any dessert)

You poor people.  Little did you know that eating the entire Half Gallon of ice cream would get you this punishment.  Actually, sure you did.  Something that tastes that good ALWAYS comes with a price.  Your program should be:

High Intensity Training / Functional Lifts / CrossFit

Michael, why would you do that to us?  We already feel like bloated garbage, and our stomachs ache a little...

Yeah, I know it's not the best of feelings, but if you follow a high intensity program that includes big lifts, intense body weight drills, and a lot of movement, then your body begins to produce lots of lactic acid.

And I mean, LOTS.

This will quickly cause a condition in the body called Lactic Acid Overload.  LAO happens when you are producing more acid than your body is able to extingish.  When this occurs, the body begins to find more direct ways to evacuate the acid from your system rather than just break down the molecule.  So, it begins to dump larger and larger quantities into the digestive track.  This action ceases digestion, and encourages removal.

So, if you're reading thru the lines, then you know that this will be a little uncomfortable, but the outcome will more than justify the means.  By reducing the amount of time the excess fat and simple sugar sits in your system, the less likely it will be to become part of your gut, your butt, and your thighs.

This can also be accomplished by High Intensity Sprinting, but for the sake of diversity, I'd just try some burpees and muscle ups.

In closing, it's alright to be a Rockstar just remember that there is always a price to pay for a good time.  But with a plan, paying attention, and a little facing reality, a lot of the damage can be undone in short order!