Bear Naked Signs On As An Official Sponsor of Warrior Dash. Fitness Expert Robert Sax Weighs In:
Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.
Bear Naked Talks About Being the Official Fuel of the Warrior Dash Games:
Can you begin by telling us a little bit about Bear Naked?
Bear Naked is an all-natural food company for the everyday adventurer, offering a full line of granola, ready-to-eat cereals, trail mixes and cookies. We are committed to making the highest quality foods, using only 100% pure and natural ingredients that you can see and recognize—perfect to jump-start your day, or as a snack to provide the lasting energy needed to fuel an active, on-the-go lifestyle.
I’ve looked over some of the nutritional information about your products, and I was excited to find Bear Naked uses only natural sugars.
We pride ourselves on using natural ingredients, like honey, agave nectar and maple syrup to sweeten our energy-dense, “bearly” processed foods. Our blends also include real raspberries, strawberries, raisins, cranberries and blueberries that won’t weigh you down; instead, they’re meant to power you up. We also ensure that all our foods are free of transfats, cholesterol, hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrup, so you’re getting only the good stuff.
What else sets Bear Naked products apart from other snacking options?
True to our earliest days, we have a real passion for creating energy-dense foods that deliver a delicious taste and wholesome, better-for-you snacking options. Each food is loaded with generous portions of 100% pure and natural ingredients, without artificial
preservatives and artificial ingredients, like whole hearty nuts and tasty dried fruits, because what we don’t put in our products is equally as important as the goodness within.
Bear Naked has recently become the official sponsor of the 2012 Warrior Dash Series. How did you get involved?
We’ve got a lot in common with the people over at Warrior Dash in that we believe in getting out, being active and having fun. It doesn’t matter if you’re out for a hike, or if you’re tackling an obstacle ridden 5k like the Warrior Dash—you need energy and we’re
here to provide it. That’s why we’re encouraging people to take part in their local event and fuel their bodies with all-natural Bear Naked foods—from start to finish.
What does “official fuel of the series” mean to Bear Naked and to the competitors in Warrior Dash events?
The Warrior Dash series is all about having a good time, hanging out with your friends and making sure you can make it to the turkey leg and live music waiting for you at the finish line. We signed on as the Official Fuel of the 2012 Warrior Dash series to provide our signature soft-baked granola as a way for participants to power up and refuel with nature’s goodies, so they make it through the event and to the festival afterward.
CrossFit Expert Robert Sax Weighs In
Much different from CrossFit competitions, with these extreme 5K events there are hardcore competitors and more casual participants just “doing it to do it”. What type of fitness suggestions do you have for the two types of athletes? How will there preparation be different?
When preparing for any type of fitness event, always consider the following; task, duration, difficulty, conditions (indoor/outdoor), competitors, and outcome (what you want the result to be). This will help you become mentally prepared. Then, adjust training regimen accordingly. Train for the domain that you’re entering. Whether you’re “hardcore” or not, understanding what you’re about to do and how you want to perform will impact your result. If you’re doing something like this for fun, then make sure you’re doing it with a friend or more. Endure together and enjoy the experience. But make sure you’re not in over you’re head. Some if these races can be pretty taxing. For those who are competitive, make sure your training embodies the activities in the race. 5k’s with obstacles can take a whole lot of practice. Your nutrition preparation is important to fuel yourself properly. Do not ever change your habits on game day, especially with food or supplementation. If your body is not used to it then it may react in an unfavorable manner which is not what you want the day of the race. Otherwise, train for your goals. If all you want to focus finish, then train smart but don’t overdo it. If you’re trying to win the thing, then be focused and specific in your training and don’t hold back. Work hard!
If you were going to participate in this event, how would your preparation differ from a CrossFit competition?
Honestly, I wouldn’t change a thing. Everything I do in my training for Crossfit competitions more than prepares me for the tasks in these types of races. As long as the programming in my training is constantly varied and practices functional movements like moving heavy objects, pushing, pulling and jumping, then I’m confident that I’ll be prepared.
What would you be doing the week leading up to the event?
Leading up to an event like this I would probably throw in some obstacles in my training workouts that are like the ones I’ll encounter in the race. For example: climbing a cargo net, jumping over walls or barriers, bear crawling etc. other than that, I probably wouldn’t change much of anything a week out. My body repairs very quickly so my prep for an event of this nature probably wouldn’t start until 3 or 4 days AT MOST prior to the race. The only thing I would make sure not to do is go on any long runs so my legs are rested.
What about the day of?
Day of, it depends on when the race is. If its early, I’d wake up, eat a meal of meat and nuts breakfast one to two hours prior to the start and just do some stretching. If it’s later in the day, I’d make sure to have two solid meals and some bcaa’s 15 mins before I start. Hopefully I slept 8 hours the night before. Finally, I’d make sure to have my iPod handy, music always gets me focused and amped up for competition.
How in the world can someone “mentally prepare” for something like this?
Mental preparation is soooo under utilized. Visualizing success prepares you for performance. More importantly, if you have doubts or fears about something, it’s likely those thoughts will negatively impact your ability to overcome the obstacle. In the upcoming days before the event, start to imagine yourself competing. See yourself moving and performing with success! Think about your start, your climax and the finish. Will you pace the beginning and speed up as you go? How will you finish? Ask yourself, “how hard are you willing to work?” As a Crossfitter, I believe performing the best you can and at some point pushing yourself beyond a comfortable limit. You will learn a lot about yourself and will have successes much greater than a finish of a race. Our inner growth as humans and self confidence can greatly be impacted by pushing our physical limits. Make the decision to challenge yourself and go for it! You’ll be happy you did, no matter what the result.