The Mid-August Slump

Remember that time I didn't write for a while because I was on vacation? Well, this is different. I'm in a slump. I haven't felt like cooking anything more complicated than a turkey burger or scrambled egg in about a week. Don't get me wrong, I'm still eating stuff...just not being creative and not sharing things because I don't want you to see how lame I am right now in terms of food.

Yes, people: it's almost September. For me, this means that school will be starting soon and my job will be picking up as faculty and students come back to Beantown. I see this as a good and bad thing. Good because I'll have more stuff to do so the days will go quicker, bad because I'll have more stuff to do aka actually have to do my job, which I'm not liking so much at the moment. (Source)

Anyway. To beat my Mid-August Slump into submission, I've been focusing extra hard on my workouts these days. I've been using heavier weights than I would usually and working more on skills that I usually do (I concurred the pistol for reals, yo). When I'm in the adrenaline-ized workout zone, I can pretend that I don't have a job and that all I do all day long is read, eat cookies and hang out with my awesome bf and the coolest puppy around. Working out is a mental escape.

I'm especially proud of the workout we did yesterday:

Workout We Did Yesterday (Modified from Crossfit Football)

The Warm-up:

Trunk twists
Arm Swings
Leg Swings
Other stuff
3 minutes jump rope (including 1 min double unders)

The Workout: AMRAP in 12 minutes

10 Thrusters @ 65lbs
200m run

The Results:
5 rounds, + 2 thrusters

I've never attempted to do 65lb thrusters in a workout before, let alone 52 of them. I was SO spent when those 12 minutes were up, but it was the best kind of spent there is: the smiley, sweaty kind. I wish the 200m runs had been faster. I have a complex about running since Lil'Nic, worked out with us*, but I'm working on it.

I'm making a promise to myself that I'll get back in the blogging groove next week. Don't get me wrong: I'm still eating in my usual way, I've just been way less creative this week...but Monday is a new day.

How have your workouts been lately? Any awesome accomplishments to share?

* Lil'Nic, aka my sister, joined us for her first Crossfit workout a few weeks ago. Let me first say that she was an NCAA Division I middle distance runner. Our workout was sandwiched between two 200m runs. I went first, being the cool, big sister that I am. Apparently, while I was out on my first 200m, Lil'Nic asked "where is she? Is she okay?" Meanwhile, I was running...as fast as I thought was appropriate...which, for me, was fast. Needless to say, I now have a complex about my running (even though I too used to be a college XC and track athlete). I'm working on it.

Sometimes I Get Jealous...

I love eating the way that I eat. I love eating the foods that I eat. Eating this way has helped me gain energy, changed my body composition and allowed me to comfortably stop counting calories and worrying all the time about gaining weight.

How do I eat, you ask? Well, I try very hard to follow a Primal way of eating. I'm not strictly Paleo, but I do avoid grains, legumes and dairy* whenever possible. I use unsweetened almond milk in my coffee and I enjoy the occasional spoonful of peanut butter. I will eat special goodies made with wheat flour at family get-togethers, but for the most part I bake with almond meal and sweeten said baked goods with honey or maple syrup. No oats, spelt, amaranth, sorghum, barley, buckwheat or kasha for me.

That being said, sometimes I get a bit jealous when I go through my daily food blog rounds. Carrots 'N' Cake, KERF, Oh She Glows and The Edible Perspective (to name a few) are always creating amazing looking oatmeal or pancake breakfasts. Oatmeal and pancakes with nut butters, chia seeds and berries and coconut! Drool-worthy overnight oats. When I look that the pictures of these concoctions, I sometimes feel like I'm missing out. I want to put all of those delicious toppings on top of something, but I choose not to eat grains. Thus, a grainy base is out.

Last weekend, I gave in to my jealousy and created an almond meal pancake monster, which I topped with blueberries, almond butter and maple syrup. Totally hit the spot!

Monster Almond Meal Pancake

Ingredients:

1/4 cup almond meal
1 egg
1 tsp cinnamon
1Tbsp chia seeds
~2Tbsp shredded coconut
blueberries

I fried this puppy in coconut oil over medium heat until cooked through and browned on each side. Once finished cooking, I topped it with maple syrup, almond butter and additional blueberries.

This was going to be a single serving sized pancake, but it turned out to be gloriously dense and pretty gigantic, so M and I split it. It was everything I'd hoped it would be and more.

The primal way of eating works incredibly well for me. Not only do I feel and look healthier, I've also made huge gains in my workouts since switching away from the standard American diet. Eating this way, on top of my exercise routine, has given me the fitness results that I've always wanted...and I'm still improving everyday. A lot of that has to do with the way that I work out, but, they say, your body composition is 20% exercise and 80% diet.

I rarely crave grains, legumes or dairy and I don't really miss them either. Peanut butter is an exception: I do crave PB every now and then, but because my diet is pretty clean otherwise, I allow myself to give in to this craving (within reason). I eat so many vegetables and such a wide variety of vegetables that I never really want breads or baked goods.

* Okay, so lately I've been less than stellar with the avoiding of cheese. I really don't drink cow's milk, eat yogurt or consume any non-cheese dairy products. I try really hard to avoid cheese...but sometimes it sneaks into whatever I'm eating...mostly because other people put it there to sabotage me. Cheese is delicious, and I'm pretty sure it has addictive properties. I try to avoid it...really, I do.

Our First Official "Backyard Workout"

After a recent trip to Mohegan Sun, which included a fruitful roulette endeavor, M and I decided to invest in some gym equipment for our home. M had been wanting to set up a home gym for a while, but stubborn me had resisted. Before we got into our Crossfit-like workouts, I was a cardio demon, and I thought that I would never workout at home unless there was an elliptical machine involved. I've since changed my tune (after seeing and feeling great results with our new regimen), and I've gotten super excited at the prospect of getting a good workout in at home.

Some searching on Amazon.com led us to everything we could possibly need for some butt kicking workouts in the comfort of our own backyard:

His and Hers kettlebells: 20lbs for me and 53lbs for M. We debated on getting me the 35lb-er, which I usually use for kettlebell swings. We decided on the 20lb for now, because I'm not strong enough to do thinks like Turkish Get-Ups with a 35lbs bell...yet...

(source)

Rings: for pull-ups, dips and muscle-ups...err...for M to do muscle ups...and me to attempt them in vain.

(source)

Undulation Rope: um...for what this guy is doing?

Speed rope: M got me my very own PURPLE speed jump rope! Now I can jump rope in style...maybe the purple will distract me from the fact that I can only do one double-under at a time...

Our First Official "Backyard Workout"
(in the style of Melicious)

Warm-up
Jump rope
Arm swings/circles
Leg swings
Hip circles
Other Stuff

Workout
Partner 1 runs 400m -Partner 2 does burpees
P2 runs 400m- P1 does burpees
P1 runs 400m - P2 does kb swings
P2 runs 400m - P1 does kb swings
P1 runs 400m - P2 does squats
P2 runs 400m - P1 does squats
P1 runs 400m - P2 does sit ups
P2 runs 400m - P1 does sit ups

Time: circa 18 minutes

My Stats: 4 x 400m (we didn't do splits), 30 Burpees, 60 kb swings with 20lb bell, 75 squats, 95 sit-ups

We didn't time our splits, but each 400 probably ended up being about 2 mins. We ran around a 400m city block instead of a track, so there were four, 90 degree angle turns, which probably slowed us down a little...next time, we'll do splits. I was really impressed with myself after this workout...but after writing it down I want to do it again...and better...It never looks/ feels as good on paper as it does when you're panting and blinded by sweat immediately post-workout.

I'm looking forward to doing many a workout at home! YAY for saving money and having a regular exercise routine! A regular home exercise routine that's not a DVD! I hate getting sweaty in my living room...outside is much more fun. Maybe I just haven't found a DVD that works for me...

Does anyone else workout at home sans DVD? Or with a DVD? If so, which one?

The Importance of Physical Activity or, My Armpits are Swollen

Well...not my armpits exactly, but my latissimus dorsi. They are, no joke, swollen. I look like a crazy, roided-out dude right now...well, not exactly...but I can't comfortably put my arms down at my sides.


Why? You may ask. Because we started doing Crossfit. M and I had a serious discussion about cardiovascular fitness on one of our weekly hikes at the dog park. We decided (obviously) that we need to do some kind of physical activity to be healthy-- eating clean 90% of the time helps, but doesn't get your blood pumping like a nice jog. Plus physical activity also plays an important role balancing the rest of our lives-- it can influence moods thereby influencing relationships, how one feels about his job, and even the food on one's plate.

We know we should be exercising more, but how much more? And what kind of exercise? I'm starting to trust "official recommendations" less and less-- how do they know what's good for me? M and I used to go to the gym religiously--so much so that we got totally burnt out and completely stopped going. Our physical activity for the past few months has been mostly hiking with the dogs with a jog or a boxing session sprinkled in here and there.

In order to implement regular exercise, we decided a non-traditional approach would work better for us. We decided to go the Crossfit route. A few of our friends have been doing it faithfully for a few years now, and M has done it in the past. Basically, they are super intense workouts designed to work multiple muscle groups in minimal time. Here's a great explanation from the Crossfit Main site:

"CrossFit is in large part derived from several simple observations garnered through hanging out with athletes for thirty years and willingness, if not eagerness, to experiment coupled with a total disregard for conventional wisdom. Let me share some of the more formative of these observations:
1. Gymnasts learn new sports faster than other athletes.
2. Olympic lifters can apply more useful power to more activities than other athletes.
3. Powerlifters are stronger than other athletes.
4. Sprinters can match the cardiovascular performance of endurance athletes even at extended efforts.
5. Endurance athletes are woefully lacking in total physical capacity.
6. With high carb diets you either get fat or weak.
7. Bodybuilders can't punch, jump, run, or throw like athletes can.
8. Segmenting training efforts delivers a segmented capacity.
9. Optimizing physical capacity requires training at unsustainable intensities.
10. The world's most successful athletes and coaches rely on exercise science the way deer hunters rely on the accordion."

The first workout we did (the one that swelled my armpits) was one round of 70 Burpees, 60 Sit ups, 50 Kettlebell swings, 40 Pull ups and 30 Handstand push ups for time. (I did a modified version 50-40-30-20-10, but it still totally kicked my butt...er...armpits). We didn't time ourselves, but from the comments on the website it seems like most people did this in under 20 minutes...insane.

We are sore and blistered, but we will persevere. I know that things will be less inflamed in time. After all, it's important for your mind, body and soul to exercise regularly. "No pain, no gain"