Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Experimentation

The breakfast experiment continues.

I tried reducing the amount of orange juice in the shake and adding a couple of servings of uncooked steel cut oats.  In my head, it wasn't going to change the shake that much.  In reality, while it was manageable, it really wasn't that good.  The texture was grainy, and, well, I don't recommend it. So, this morning, I tried the oats with a little honey and cinnamon. 

I felt really good after the shake, and I wondered whether that was just a result of ingesting a bunch of sugar.  Or was I feeling good because I was hormonally balanced, i.e. in the zone.  I thought eating the oats would tell me since they are devoid of sugar and (as I found out) flavor.  The verdict is that I still felt really good, and I don't think it was just the sugar.  The oats need work though.  I have to figure out how to make them good.  I'm thinking I will try cooking them with apples and cinnamon and see how that goes.


               Cal's    Fats    Saturated    Mono    Poly    Sodium    Carbs    Sugars    Fiber    Protein
2x Oats    300         5             0.5                                                 54                      12           10
2 eggs      142         5                2                                  140                                                  12
Protein     115                                                                                                                       28


I finished breakfast with 6 blocks of almonds.


Monday,  January 9, 2011

7x3 Floor Press (175#)

These felt good until I tried to go beyond 175#. It didn't feel right in my shoulder. I just put up 200# a week and half ago; so I know I can go heavier, but it didn't feel right at all.  Maybe I was in a weird position or something.  I definitely was not as comfortable on the floor as I am when I'm working with a bench.

10-1 DL (60% 1RM) (205#)  (11:06) 
150m Run in between rounds

So it was 10 DL, 150m, 9 DL, 150m, 8DL, etc.

Overall the lifts felt good.  I stretched afterward, and I am not feeling sore or tight at all today.  I know that my form suffered during wod though.  I really have to concentrate to maintain good form during this lift, and when I do them for time, I know that get sloppy.  Frankly, even when I try to go fast, I'm still just a slow deadlifter.  However, overall I am improving at it, and I'm much more comfortable with it than I was when I started.

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Open Gym and a Modification

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Friendship has open gym on Sundays, and I have been using those days to work on my squatting.  I'm doing this "Hatch Squat" program in an effort to get my numbers up.  You input your 1RM for your back squat and your front squat, and you get a 12 week program based on percentages of the 1RM.  It is supposed to be done 2 days a week, but I'm only doing it 1 day for now because we do so much during the week. I did Week 2, Day 2 today.

Back Squat:  1x10  125#
                      1x8    135# should've been 145#, but math is hard so I had to do an extra set
                      1x8    145#
                      1x8    155#
                      1x8    165#

Front Squat: 1x5    115#
                     1x5    125#
                     1x5    135#
                     1x5    135#

 All the reps went really well.  All in all, I felt good.

I was talked into doing a metcon with a couple of guys.  It included box jumps.  Unless, it comes up in the programming or unless it is part of the open, I'm not doing box jumps any more.  I don't like them, and I'm not a responsible box jumper...as my shins can attest.

15-12-9   (7:18)   (144 reps/3 seconds a rep)
30" Box Jumps
Pull-ups
Kettle bell Swings
Push Press (75#)

The workout felt great (except for the box jumps).  The pull-ups were awesome.   I didn't really need any breaks (except following a little shin scrape).  I'm actually a little pissed off about the box.  I know better. I can't be trusted on the box.

Breakfast Shake

I really like the shake, but it didn't really keep me full as long as I would've liked.  Also, I would like to reduce to amount of sugar that is in it.  I stopped by the store, and I picked up some steel cut oats.  They are very dense with nutrients.  When I make the shake tonight, I am going to increase the blocks to 6, and I am going to substitute oats for some of the orange juice.  I want to keep the berries because of their fiber content.  This should make it heartier too.

Time To Get Back and a Modified Focus

I have (once again) slacked at blogging, but I am back with a renewed vigor. 

I am going to change the focus of the blog.  I will continue to use this space to keep track of my workouts and any thoughts I have about them, and I am also going to start keeping track of my diet here.  I am a vegetarian (i.e. I don't eat meat or fish).  I am also trying to gain (good) weight and just generally be healthy. 

During the CrossFit Cert, the instructors presented the Zone Diet as something that has worked for top tier athletes, and they got me interested in it.  In reading about it, I have come to realize that it is a bit of a pain in the ass...at least if you are looking to make instant change from no zone to complete zone.  That sort of change is not going to work for me; so I am going to try to evolve into it over time by trying out recipes here and there until I find a complete diet that works for me.  Additionally, my goals include getting rid of any added processed sugar from the foods I eat as well as getting away from breads and pastas and the like (or at least eating less of these things).  I will post recipes as I try them, and if anyone out there stumbles upon this and has any suggestions, tips, etc. please post comments.

Saturday, January 7th, 2012

1RM Rack Jerks:  #185, #195(f)

My previous regular Jerk PR was 165#.  I'm not sure if this Rack Jerk is in line with that or if it indicates that my Jerk has gone up, but I will hope for the latter.

Tabata Something else: Full Tabata for each exercise, no rest in between exercises besides the normal 10 seconds for 16 minutes of total work.

(352 total reps)
Pull-ups
Push-ups
Sit-ups
Air Squats

Squats and Sit-ups were great.  Pull-ups and Push-ups are the two exercises in which I can improve.  My shoulder didn't pop, which is awesome, but my shoulders aren't strong either.  I just got tired on the push-ups and they required (that is actually the wrong word) more seconds of rest during the 20 second segments of work.  I was probably just being a bit of a baby.  The rest wasn't "required."


Breakfast Shake:

I don't think my breakfast was bad before, but I would like to improve it.  Currently, I eat greek yogurt with fruit on the bottom and 2 hard boiled eggs.  The yogurt has sugar added to it though.  I wanted to keep the eggs and look at making a shake for the mornings.  My breakfast should be fast and easy, and eggs and shakes can be prepared ahead of time.  I modified this shake: I wanted more blocks and I wanted to use greek yogurt because I like it, it has less sugar, more protein, and no risk of gelatin. Also, I wanted more blocks.  This shake along with 2 hard boiled eggs is a 5 block breakfast.

1 cup plain, low fat (just what they had), greek yogurt (1C, 3P)
1 cup Orange/Mango Juice (it was in the fridge) (3C)
2/3 cup fresh blackberries (on sale and will switch to frozen berries as prices change) (1C)
1 1/3 tsp. Canola Oil (should've used a touch more) (4F)

And on the side, 2 hard boiled eggs (2P)

The shake was amazing.  There is a lot of sugar with the fruit, but all of the sugar is just what occurs naturally in the food.  I'm comfortable with it for now, and no sugar is added.  It is easy to make, and it makes about 20 oz. of liquid, which easily fits in my blender bottle.  I should be able to make this the night before and just grab it on my way out the door.

              Cal's    Fats    Saturated    Mono    Poly    Sodium    Carbs    Sugars    Fiber    Protein
Shake    490         23                 4          11        5          105          47          38           6           24

Eggs      142           5                 2                                  140                                                    12

I will try to figure out how to format this in a better way.

I want to thank my wonderful wife.  She has been amazing as I have slowly become obsessed with CrossFit and my diet.  Neither one us knew what CrossFit was when she agreed to marry me, and she has just been totally supportive of my crazy.