November 2010
36 posts
2 tags
Paleo challenge day 21 recap
Breakfast: cashews, Larabar Snack: another Larabar, some fresh turkey, broccoli Lunch: chicken fajita salad, apple Dinner: mexican beef, eggs, broccoli, sweet potato, apple No candy for me this Halloween. Weekends are always tricky to try to get real meals in so I generally eat what I can when I can. If I’m oot and aboot sometimes I’ll resort to eating Larabars. Sue me....
Nov 1st
October 2010
46 posts
2 tags
Paleo challenge day 20 recap
Breakfast: eggs, avocado, Larabar Snack: cashews Lunch: rotisserie chicken, broccoli, sweet potato Dinner: mexican beef, salad, sweet potato, apple Good day for eating - I crammed a ton of broccoli in my face with lunch and felt really full all day. 2/3rds of the way there! Weigh-in: 180lb.
Oct 31st
3 tags
Sprints and Pushups
Since I didn’t make the Sandbag Mile as brutal as I could have, I set up a finisher: Sprint 50m 20 Pushups Repeat 5x Not for time, but this was very necessary. The finisher to this finisher, however, (carrying the sandbag home) was the toughest part since my shoulders were cooked.
Oct 31st
2 tags
The Sandbag Mile
Hoofed 1 mile carrying my trusty 80lb sandbag, Larry Storch. I set up a 10 burpee penalty every time the bag touches the ground. Finished in 14:40, with no penalties. That’s a lot slower than I expected. Honestly the intensity could have been much higher but it was difficult to keep my grip on the bag and I ended up doing some running and some walking since some grips (you need to switch up...
Oct 31st
2 tags
Paleo challenge day 19 recap
Breakfast: eggs, sausage, Larabar Lunch: salad with turkey, walnuts, pears Snack: tortilla-free tacos (chicken and pork) Dinner: rotisserie chicken, bunless hot dog, apple Candy everywhere today! In meetings, on everyone’s desk at the office, cupcakes in the conference room. Get out of my face. Weigh-in: 184lb.
Oct 30th
2 tags
Paleo challenge day 18 recap
Dinner: chicken soup, broccoli, guacamole, apple, almond butter Fast day and a leftover party for dinner. Ho hum. Weigh-in: 180lb.
Oct 29th
2 tags
Kung Fu class
Standard warmup today followed by some stomach and bridge conditioning. Worked on a few basic hand techniques with the first class and then worked primarily on sword drills / Hang Yuet Darn Dao with the later crew.
Oct 29th
1 note
2 tags
Paleo challenge day 17 recap
Breakfast: eggs, mexican beef, Larabar Lunch: fresh turkey, asparagus, carrots, avocado Snack: Larabar Dinner: rotisserie chicken, guacamole, spinach, plantains, apple I don’t find myself missing or craving anything at all, which is sort of unexpected. I really look forward to my daily apple though - maybe because I have a bunch of nice honeycrisps from the farmer’s market....
Oct 28th
2 tags
Paleo challenge day 16 recap
Breakfast: eggs, mexican beef Snack: almonds and walnuts, Larabar Lunch: salad with turkey and stuff Snack: cashews and nose carrots Dinner: chicken teriyaki and mixed vegetables, apple I’ve been really tired lately and am trying to get better sleep. No complaints about the food though! Weigh-in: 187lb.
Oct 27th
2 tags
Paleo challenge day 15 recap
Dinner: leftover chicken, sweet potato, mexican beef salad, cashews, apple with almond butter Another fast day, so there’s only one meal to report. Half way to the finish line and feeling fine. Weigh-in: 180lb.
Oct 26th
2 tags
Strength Training
Nothing like spending the day surrounded by the obese to get motivated. I wrote a song about my jury duty experience today called “Hey Diabetes” (to the tune of The Macarena). Went to the 5th Ave Gym when I was dismissed: Back Squat 3 x 5 x 225lb Power Cleans 4 x 3 x 185lb Not much time, so I kept it simple and sweaty. The squat work was just to practice and the power cleans...
Oct 26th
2 tags
Lunch Break Workout
What do you do when you’re stuck in jury duty, are fasting, and have a long lunch hour with nothing to do? Pullups and pushups! Repeat 3x: 10 Pullups 10 Chinups Repeat 3x: 10 Pushups (incline) 10 Pushups (decline) Not for time, friend. Low sweat index, but I feel bad for the other jurors sitting next to me after lunch.
Oct 26th
2 tags
Paleo challenge day 14 recap
Breakfast: omelet with sausage, peppers, onions, and avocado, apple Snack: chicken with salsa verde Lunch: bunless hotdog, cashews, Larabar Dinner: mexican beef salad, sweet potato Another day in the books. Nothing special to report, though the omelet was my first non-homecooked breakfast (got it at a diner which means it was probably cooked in butter). They were also very surprised that...
Oct 25th
2 tags
Paleo challenge day 13 recap
Breakfast: eggs, sausage, sweet potato Snack: Larabar Lunch: salad with chicken and stuff Second Lunch: chicken and asparagus, cashews Snack: some fruit, bunless hotdog Dinner: steak, spinach, grapes The wife made a chimchurri sauce tonight with the steak that’s gonna change my life. Now I have two weapons against bland food: Trader Joe’s salsa verde and this chimchurri.
Oct 24th
2 tags
3.4 Mile Run
Took a hilly ladder-style run in Park Slope. Started at 3rd St & 5th Ave, ran uphill to PPW, over one block, down to 6th Ave, over one block, up to PPW, over one, down to 7th Ave, over one, up to PPW, over one, down to 8th Ave, over one, and finally down to 5th Ave. Totalled 3.4 miles and finished in 24:28, which is a 7:11 pace. Lots of hills, fella.
Oct 24th
2 tags
Paleo challenge day 12 recap
Breakfast: eggs, salsa verde, sausage Snack: almonds and walnuts Snack: cashews and grapes Dinner: over-seasoned chicken, asparagus, sweet potato It was the little one’s first birthday today and since she can officially eat eggs now, I have a new breakfast buddy. She chomped up all the avocado we had left too and it warmed my heart to see her eating such a fine meal. I also made a...
Oct 23rd
2 tags
Paleo challenge day 11 recap
Breakfast: eggs, salsa verde, bacon Lunch: spinach salad with chicken and stuff, Larabar x 2 Snack: apple w/ deli turkey Dinner: bunless burger with avocado, full bag of spinach The hunger is on me again. Must be the full moon.
Oct 22nd
2 tags
Paleo challenge day 10 recap
Breakfast: eggs, salsa verde, sausage Snack: almonds and walnuts Lunch: salad with chicken, salsa, Larabar Dinner: pernil, plantains, guacamole, apple w/almond butter, some watermelon and pineapple Very unsatisfying lunch today, so I made sure I had a decent dinner. Feeling good overall.
Oct 21st
2 tags
Strength Training
Down in the dirty dungeon that is the 5th Ave Gym for some lifting. Stoked the furnace with the official TWBS warmup and got to work: Back Squat 4 x 2 x 275lb Simple pair, repeat 3x: Turkish Get Ups (2 x 55lb, 2 x 75lb, 2 x 90lb) DB Snatch (2 x 55lb, 2 x 75lb, 2 x 90lb) My squat form is just dreadful. Only felt solid on a couple of reps today.
Oct 21st
2 tags
Paleo challenge day 9 recap
Dinner: chicken, broccoli, cashews, half an apple w/almond butter, coconut milk/berry smoothie Fasted until dinner. The hunger was really on me this time and I couldn’t seem to get full.
Oct 20th
2 tags
Paleo challenge day 8 recap
Breakfast: egg, leftover steak, everyday paleo’s apple muffins, bok choy Snack: Larabar Lunch: spinach salad with grilled chicken and stuff Dinner: spaghetti squash with turkey meat sauce, broccoli, grapes, cashews, more damn muffins, half an apple I normally fast on Mondays, but just wasn’t feeling it today.
Oct 19th
3 tags
Bearcage 10
Marked out around 20m length, did a descending burpee ladder with bearcrawls between sets: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Burpees ~20m Bearcrawl Total time: 7:44. Much harder because it was after my sprint session and bearcrawl is all legs. Compare to times around 4 minutes when I’ve done this fresh at the kung fu school, which is a similar distance.
Oct 19th
3 tags
Sprint Intervals
On the turf at good old Washington Park: Sprint 50m Repeat 12x Trying to get fast. Chilly day + short shorts = low sweat index.
Oct 19th
2 tags
Paleo challenge day 7 recap
Breakfast: eggs, brussels sprouts Lunch: everyday paleo’s apple muffins, bok choy, sweet potato, grapes, some uneaten leftover baby lunch (chicken soup, zucchini & broccoli, carrots) Dinner: spaghetti squash and turkey meat sauce Week one is in the books. Pecked all day today and didn’t have a proper sit down meal until dinner. The muffins were my most successful attempt at...
Oct 18th
2 tags
Paleo challenge day 6 recap
Breakfast: eggs, sausage, salsa verde, cashews Snack: fruit salad Lunch: steak, asparagus, broccoli, salad, sweet potato, grapes Dinner: deli turkey, nose carrots, coconut milk smoothie, cashews Too much fruit.
Oct 17th
2 tags
Paleo challenge day 5 recap
Breakfast: eggs, bacon, salsa verde Snack: walnuts and almonds Lunch: spinach salad with chicken and other stuff Dinner: chicken, brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes Man, Trader Joe’s makes a nice salsa verde.
Oct 16th
2 tags
Kung Fu class
Good class today. I’m almost never at the school on a Friday night and since it was a different crew, we went for some different training. Warmup, some stance drills, some kicks, then focused on broadsword drills for the remainder of class. Stuck around and worked on Fu Hok Seung Ying Kuen for a while.
Oct 16th
2 tags
Paleo challenge day 4 recap
Dinner: grass-fed burger patty with some guac and salsa verde, brussels sprouts, baked sweet potatoes Snack: half an apple with some almond butter Fasted until dinner since I went in for my baseline, pre-challenge blood work today. Had an official weigh-in and came in at 183lb.The doctor declared me fit as a fiddle, but I’m looking forward to the results of my blood panel. The snack was...
Oct 15th
2 tags
House Arrest
Another night stuck inside, another impromptu no-equipment quiet workout. 20 Pike presses 20 V-ups 20 Squats Repeat 5x Took my sweet time and didn’t get too sweaty. I was just desperate to do SOMETHING and this was my only option tonight. We live to sweat another day.
Oct 15th
Oct 14th
2 tags
Paleo challenge day 3 recap
Breakfast: eggs, sausage, avocado, salsa Snack: Larabar Lunch: double meat chicken salad from Chipotle with added guac Dinner: huge plate of pernil, brussels sprouts, plantains, hard boiled egg, a few grapes Started supplementing with vitamin D today, as per Robb Wolf’s recommendation. I also tried a digestive enzyme tablet with dinner, but since I got a warm feeling in my belly I...
Oct 14th
2 tags
Paleo challenge day 2 recap
Breakfast: eggs, avocado, broccoli, nose carrots Snack: almonds & walnuts Lunch: roasted turkey, broccoli, squash, avocado Dinner: hard boiled egg, chicken, carrots, celery, broccoli Snack: all natural hotdog, part of an apple During this challenge, I’ll be hitting the steam tables at Cafe Amande near my office when I don’t feel like a salad for lunch. They have this strange...
Oct 13th
2 tags
Paleo challenge day 1 recap
It’s easy to stay paleo when youre fasting for most of the day. Dinner: pork chops, squash Post-workout snack: a few almonds and walnuts and some grapes. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.
Oct 12th
4 tags
Jump Rope Intervals
Getting my intervals in: 45 sec jump rope Repeat 16x, resting 15 sec between sets. Mostly high-knee-sprint-in-place skipping with double unders mixed in every 2-3 rounds. This is a tough one.
Oct 12th
3 tags
Fall 2010 Goals and Another Paleo Challenge!
I finished Robb Wolf’s The Paleo Solution (highly recommended, btw) recently and learned a lot about why my previous bouts with the paleo diet weren’t terribly successful. Apparently eating crap every 15 days is enough to keep the gut irritated and to keep your body in a neolithic rut. Since I was only 90% compliant at best, I was never fully in the clear. I think I was also sabotaging...
Oct 12th
3 tags
Goals Check-Up, October 2010
I had three simple goals for the end of the summer: eat less and take breaks, run 5k in under 20 minutes, and practice kung fu three times a week. I got a good handle on my diet, tracking everything meticulously for 9 weeks and then staying pretty true for the last few weeks (without the tracking). I’ve been fasting 2x per week and feeling pretty good. The only problem with tracking...
Oct 12th
3 tags
Quiet as a Mouse
Another “don’t wake the baby” workout since I was home alone with the wee one: 10 Kneeling wheel rollouts 10 Pushups Repeat 10x, not for time muthafucka. Mixed up the pushups between regular, knuckle, wide, diamond, fingertip, and feet elevated on the couch.
Oct 11th
Oct 11th
6 notes
A Philosophy of Strength and Health: Build... →
“For me, it isn’t about beating people down. It is about building them from the ground up; one block at time, through deliberate practice and repetition.”
Oct 10th
4 tags
Jump Rope / Burpee Intervals
One of my faves, outside in the sun: 3 min Jump Rope 3 min Burpees (53) 2 min Jump Rope 2 min Burpees (32) 1 min Jump Rope 1 min Burpees (19) 30 sec Jump Rope 30 sec Burpees (12) I rested 60 seconds after the 3 min intervals, 45 sec after the 2 min, 30 sec after the 1 min, and 15 sec after the 30 sec. Total burpees: 116. Pretty shitty score, but I’m just not in top shape right...
Oct 9th
Sandbag Exercise Demo Videos (lots of em) →
A plethora of videos showing different sandbag exercises for you garage gorillas.
Oct 8th
2 tags
2 Mile Run
Headed down 6th Ave to the Prospect Expwy, up to 7th and back down home. Finished in 14:27, averaging a 7:14 pace. Felt sort of crumby, but I always feel sort of crumby running a few days after deadlifting.
Oct 7th
3 tags
Quick Finisher
Whipped up a short circuit to get a little sweat going after my deadlifting: 5 Double DB hang clean and press (50lb) 10 Knees-to-elbows Repeat 5x Total time: 5:31. I didn’t end up getting really winded due to muscular failure on them KTEs.
Oct 5th
2 tags
Just Deadlifts
Back in the dirty basement of the 5th Ave Gym: Deadlifts 3 x 315lb 2 x 365lb 1 x 415lb 1 x 435lb Felt good despite some unsolicited advice about how I need to look up while I lift. I just smiled and nodded, then continued to lift the way I was taught. Some notes from a deadlifting training session with Coach Keith: “lock out arms, keep back arched, head down. Don’t wanna be a...
Oct 5th
2 tags
2.58 Mile Run
Since I’ve been feeling very inefficient and lead-footed, I’ve been watching some POSE running tutorials on YouTube. It doesn’t make me an expert, but I kept a few things in mind during tonight’s run down to the south slope. Finished 2.58 miles in 18:01, which averages out to a 6:58 pace. My stride felt noticeably better on hills and I felt like I was working with gravity...
Oct 3rd
3 tags
@guamibear asks "how is the paleo diet different...
The Paleo Diet is different because it’s based on evolutionary science. As a former anthropologist you should be able to get behind that, right? Basically, humans haven’t evolved in the 10,000 years since the agricultural revolution, we just learned how to transition from a hunter gatherer lifestyle to an easier way of life. The only trade-off was our health and vitality. Eating...
Oct 1st