Everything You Need To Know About Salt In Your Diet

Long touted as “the bad guy” when it comes to heart health and blood pressure, salt is starting to fight back with a different story.

There is more to salt than the seasoning and preservative uses we tend to associate with it. There is absolutely a place for salt in your diet. Oh and guess what else, not all salt is created equal….

To truly optimize your health you need to prioritize your salt intake, consume the right types of salt, and understand the relationship it has with potassium. When it comes to nutrition that can optimize your health and performance electrolytes are just one key to success. Adopting sound nutritional strategies will transform the way you feel but also the way you think and your mood.

The problem that arises with salt is has less to do with salt and actually stems from processed foods. These foods are bad for two main reasons.

One, they are almost entirely void of potassium which throws off the ratio of salt to potassium in the body.

Two, they contain 99% sodium chloride and anti-caking agents that often contain heavy metals that can do serious damage to your nervous system. Salt containing heavy metals actually lead to dehydration. They are toxic in the body so the body pulls water out of the cells to protect itself.

“At the end of the day, you can’t compete with Mother Nature. If you’ve got a great tomato, just a pinch of sea salt is all you need.” -Zac Posen

The solution to the problem is to eat the right types of salt. Himalayan salts, sea salts, and other high quality salt products contain lower levels of sodium chloride and instead have higher amounts of beneficial trace minerals. They are also unrefined which eliminates the risk of heavy metals.

It may be a tough mental block for you to overcome when it comes to adding salt to your diet. Feel free to use a healthy variety of salt liberally since evidence has shown no link between sea salt intake above dietary guidelines and adverse medical conditions.

Salt can improve athletic performance and energy levels through its hydrating effects. There are also tons of varieties that will absolutely revolutionize the taste of your food. The cells in our body maintain hydration through a sodium potassium pump. The body likes to maintain specific levels of each mineral in order to keep homeostasis. Along with salt make sure you consume foods high in sodium like potatoes and bananas, especially if you are training hard or sweating a lot.

Go find a high quality salt and sea for yourself.

If you have questions about nutrition for your sport, you want to have more energy, or make a positive choice for your body then we would love to talk about your goals and share some resources that can help!

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Derek Williams

CrossFit Coach

The questions ‘what does CrossFit mean to me’ and ‘Why do I want to be a coach’ come down to a simple quote that I immediately thought of. “It’s not the years in your life that count, it’s the life in your years.” – Dr. Edward J. Stieglitz
He wrote that in a book on longevity, and I believe that CrossFit has added life to my years and is responsible to adding life to the years of countless people and will continue to do so for many years. I have more life in my years because I’m more physically fit, because I have developed a habit of working out 4 times a week, because I track macros and count calories and because I don’t have to figure out what I’m going to do in my workouts. I feel better, I’m able to be more active with my family and friends, and I’m generally happier than I would be otherwise. And that’s all because of CrossFit. I thought about exploring coaching a while ago because I thought it would be a good way to develop my knowledge of the sport as well as help me develop coaching skills that jobs that I want in the future are looking for. Becoming a coach has given me experience with managing different personalities, meeting people where they are, motivating people in the most effective way and advance my understanding
of this sport and fitness in general. But more importantly, I add different energy, experience, capability, and level of respect to the coaching team.

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Chris Jackson

Fitness Coach

Our wealth is our health…I truly believe there is no better investment any of us can make than in our mental and physical health.   Living an active, healthy lifestyle enables us to get more out of life and live it to the fullest.    As a lifelong runner, I came to Widespread looking to find balance in my fitness by building strength and power.  What I found was a community of people who motivate, encourage and support one another inside and outside the gym.  Coaching at Widespread gives me the opportunity to help our athletes on their journeys toward health and fitness.  Learning new movements, improving technique and hitting PRs motivates athletes of any age, and it’s critical for those of us who want to continue growing.   Life is better together, but life is rich and full when you are healthy and fit.

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Amy Poshusta

Fitness Coach

As I have reached my mid-40s, my desire to find balance in a healthy lifestyle has peaked; balance in how much I train or workout, how much emphasis I place on healthy food choices and how much time I spend socially connecting with my family and friends.  To me, CrossFit is this balance.  It is the overlapping region on my own personal Venn diagram of training, nutrition and lifestyle, and it is providing me the best quality of life and health.  It is about challenging one’s capabilities with new and demanding workouts, nurturing bodies to grow and supporting mental health with a super fun community of like-minded and encouraging people.  CrossFit is challenges and rewards. It is individually competitive and collaborative.  It has pushed me to better how I move and to mentally persevere.  And as a result, I am the strongest, and perhaps the happiest & healthiest, I have ever been in my whole life.

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CrossFit Level 1 Trainer Course

Erica Erickson

Fitness Coach

When I sit down to think about what CrossFit means to me this is what comes to mind…..self-confidence, strength, peaceful mind, supportive tribe, willingness to get out of one’s comfort zone, and not being afraid to show weaknesses.   Growing up playing sports, becoming a mom took a toll on me physically and mentally.  After our first set of twins, I tried to stay active, but after our second set, I found I didn’t have time.  I woke up one day sick of being tired, out of shape, and I knew I wanted to be a better roll model for our children.   After getting the courage to ask a friend about her CrossFit classes, I signed up for a No Sweat Intro.  After meeting with Matt, I just knew it was something I had to try or I would always wonder “What if.”  I quickly fell in love with everything about it.  The variety of the classes, the community that pushes you to step outside your comfort zone, and the incredible coaches who help you believe in yourself when you feel like stopping because you haven’t work out in years.  CrossFit has dramatically changed my life and I LOVE helping others realize the same benefits in their lives.  Knowing that I get to assist others become stronger, both mentally and physically, is the foundation of why I love being a coach.

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Ani Monroe

Fitness Coach

Coming Soon!

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 National Exercise Trainers Association

Kari Kirkendall

Nutrition Coach / Event & Media Director / Youth Fitness Director

CrossFit literally changed my life. Now I know this sounds cliche or a little extreme, but it honestly did. CrossFit not only gave me a self confidence I had no idea I could posses, a self love I didn’t think was possible and an outlet to any challenge life threw my way, but also gave me my husband, my way of living and a discovery into a passion that consumes my life in the best way possible.

What I do every day is incredible. Every day I see something amazing and inspiring happen to people that I truly care so much about. And what I am talking about has nothing to do with being able to deadlift a huge amount of weight (although that IS awesome and I am always pumped when that happens) it’s about athletes coming in with stories about being able to do something they haven’t been comfortable doing in over 2 decades (whether it’s fitness related or just wearing a piece of clothing), or seeing two children under the age of 10 tell their mom and/or dad they want to be strong like them some day, or watching people become comfortable in their own skin in a way that 3 months ago they never thought they would ever be able to do. It gives me a passion and a drive to never stop doing what we are doing.

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CrossFit Level 1 Trainer Course
 CrossFit Kids Course
 Brand X Method Kids Course
 Precision Nutrition

Matthew Kirkendall

Head Coach / Owner

To me CrossFit means opportunity……..

Suffering a stress fracture to my femur, while training for my first 100 miler ultra, I sought out a different outlet to prove my fitness and stay active.  CrossFit gave me this opportunity.  Besides mostly disproving my actual fitness level, it provided me with a incomparable challenge and more accurate way to set physical and mental limits for myself.

Going through heart breaking personal struggles at home and making the life changing decision to move out west alone, away from friends and family, I arrived craving personal connection and sense of belonging.  CrossFit gave me this opportunity.   All it took was suffering side by side through a WOD before it felt like I had been a part of the community for years.

Years of reading, studying, testing everything I could on fitness and what is meant “to be fit” could only be so gratifying, I wanted to share my knowledge, experience and passion with others.  CrossFit gave me this opportunity.  It’s the feeling and joy I get when, I am able to coach a new athlete through a task that seemed impossible minutes before or see their face light up when a movement feels effortless after weeks of struggle, that makes me realize this is what I was meant to do.

Whether it be working for a national corporation or coaching at the local box, I have often questioned their ways of doing business, claiming I could do it better if only it was my business.   CrossFit gave me this opportunity.   Operating a successful fitness facility is a dream come true and proof that I can accomplish anything with the determination, patience, sacrifice and the opportunity.

PRIOR ATHLETIC EXPERIENCE:

  • Leadville Trail 100 Run
  • Ironman Lake Placid
  • Bel Monte 50 Mile Endurance Run
  • Leadville Marathon
  • Several other triathlons and running races of various distances

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Pain-Free Performance Specialist Certification
 CrossFit Level 1 Trainer Course
 CrossFit Level 2 Trainer Course
 CrossFit Aerobic Capacity Course
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 CrossFit Weightlifting Trainer Course
 USA Weightlifting Sports Performance Coaching Course

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