3 Recipes to Rule Training Season (Without Getting Bored)

If you’ve ever tried to survive training season on nothing but protein bars and “mystery” cafeteria pasta, you know that fueling your body is just as important as hitting that last rep. Training season isn’t just about sweating in the gym — it’s about how you recover, how you stay energized, and how you make food your secret weapon.

We’re talking real food here — meals that give you energy, help your muscles bounce back, and actually taste like something you’d want to eat twice. That’s why during training season, we keep our kitchens stocked and our pans sizzling. And yes, we’re still keeping it a little sassy, because if we can’t laugh about accidentally burning our first batch of chicken, what are we even doing?

Corn and Bean Salsa

Ingredients:

• 1 cup corn kernels
  
  
• 1/2 cup zucchini, diced
  
  
• 1 cup black beans
  
  
• 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
  
  
• 1/2 jalapeño, minced
  
  
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
  
  
• 2 tbsp olive oil
  
  
• Pinch of chili flakes
  
  
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
  
  
• Pinch of dried oregano
  
  
• 1/2 tbsp salt
  
  
• Pinch of cumin
  
  
• Olive oil for sautéing
  
  

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a skillet.
   
   
2. Add corn kernels and zucchini, stirring until golden.
   
   
3. In a mixing bowl, combine black beans, sautéed veggies, cilantro, jalapeño, lemon juice, olive oil, chili flakes, pepper, oregano, salt, and cumin.
   
   
4. Mix well and serve. Bonus points if you pair it with crispy nachos — we call that the “post-training season snack attack.”
   
   

This is a perfect pre-workout snack during training season because it’s light but loaded with complex carbs and plant protein.

Porkchops

Ingredients:

• 1/2 rack of pork
  
  
• Salt and pepper to taste
  
  
• Fresh rosemary and oregano
  
  
• Olive oil for cooking
  
  
• Aluminum foil (for tips of bones)
  
  
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
  
  
• 3 Granny Smith apples, sliced
  
  
• 1 cup baby potatoes
  
  
• 1 tsp black pepper
  
  
• Pinch of salt
  
  
• 1 tbsp dried chili
  
  
• Olive oil for roasting
  
  

Directions:

1. Season the pork with salt and pepper.
   
   
2. Tie kitchen twine between the bones and tuck fresh rosemary and oregano into the ties.
   
   
3. Heat olive oil in a skillet or wok, sear pork for 10 minutes (cover bone tips with foil to avoid burning).
   
   
4. Transfer to a baking dish and bake at 375°F for 30 minutes.
   
   
5. In another baking dish, add garlic, apples, baby potatoes, pepper, salt, dried chili, and olive oil. Bake at 375°F for 20 minutes.
   
   
6. Serve pork with the roasted apple-potato mix.
   
   

The sweet-savory balance here is exactly what your body craves in training season — protein for muscle repair, carbs for energy, and flavor so good you won’t even think about takeout.

Puerro Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1 lemon, sliced
  
  
• Olive oil for cooking
  
  
• 2 chicken breasts
  
  
• Pinch of salt and pepper
  
  
• 1 purple onion, chopped
  
  
• 3 leeks, chopped
  
  
• 1 glass white wine
  
  
• 1 cup cream
  
  
• 2 potatoes
  
  
• Fresh cilantro for garnish
  
  

Directions:

1. In a skillet, add lemon slices, olive oil, chicken breasts, salt, and pepper. Cook to your liking, then remove chicken.
   
   
2. In the same skillet, sauté onion and leeks.
   
   
3. Return chicken to the skillet, add more salt, white wine, and cream. Cover and simmer on low heat.
   
   
4. Separately, cook potatoes until tender, slice them, season with salt, pepper, and olive oil.
   
   
5. Serve chicken with the potatoes on the side, garnished with fresh cilantro.
   
   

Creamy, citrusy, and rich in protein — this is training season comfort food at its finest, the kind that keeps you strong for tomorrow’s session.

Final Thoughts

During training season, your body is like a high-performance engine — and you wouldn’t fill a race car with watered-down gas, right? These recipes aren’t just delicious; they’re designed to fuel your workouts, aid recovery, and keep you feeling unstoppable.

We believe the kitchen is just another kind of training ground. You prep, you focus, you execute — and in the end, you get results you can taste. So fire up that skillet, grab your fresh ingredients, and fuel up like the next generation of athletes we know you are.

Because in training season, you don’t just eat to live — you eat to perform. And these three dishes? They’re our playbook for winning both in the gym and at the dinner table.