Workouts and Meals for Week of 10-1-12

So last week's meals and workouts did not go quite as scheduled.  I ended up skipping Friday's workout as I was unbelievably sore from Wednesday.  The ball slams really worked my legs and I was limping around on sore legs until Saturday.  We celebrated two birthdays last week as well, and ended up being taken out or going out to dinner ourselves three times.  While I did well at most of these meals, I went off the track Saturday at my son's birthday party--had pizza and beer...and paid for it later.

So this morning I tried to make up for it with a long, fairly hard ride through Temecula wine country with Michelle and our friends Dave and Karrie.  We put in a nice 24 miler before it got too hot.

It was a beautiful morning, fairly light on traffic, with lots of hot air balloons in the sky as you can see in the background.  We also left early enough to beat the heat.  Mostly rolling country roads with a few tough (and one killer) climbs (about 1900 total feet of climbing). 

Biking has really become my favorite way to follow the Primal Blueprint's recommendation for Low Level Aerobic Activity.  In addition to my workouts, as listed below, I walk my dogs 1-2 miles a day, try to run many errands on bike and even commute to work by bike whenever possible, and each weekend, try to get in one nice long, leisurely ride.  It's all part of my plan to avoid the Chronic Cardio of the past that always led to burnout and injury.  As I approach one full year of following the plan, it seems to be working.  One adjustment that has really helped keep me motivated on my rides has been ditching my road bike.  As many of you know, I had a pretty nasty accident on my road bike back in June that led to a broken arm (at the shoulder joint) that I'm still, slowly, recovering from.  I never felt particularly stable on my ultralight road bike with its extremely thin racing wheels, and my accident made me question why someone committed to recreational riding, commuting, and touring was on a racing-style road bike in the first place.  So I sold it and bought a Surly Long Haul Trucker:

It's got a more relaxed geometry, which is easy on my back, a solid steel frame, and larger wheels.  It gives up something in terms of speed, but I don't miss that, and what it makes up for in comfort will keep me riding longer and with more enjoyment.  I'll also be able to use it for some touring, including my dream ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles that I'm committed to doing sometime within the next two years.  In the meantime, it's been great for everything from my weekend 25-40 milers to a quick ride to Plowboys to stock up on veggies for dinner.

Here's this week's plan:

Workouts

Monday, 10/1

Warm Up (2 rounds):

• 15 min walk
• Samson stretch
• 15 sit ups
• 15 air squats

Workout (3 rounds):

• 30 Russian Swings
• 30 second plank

Wednesday, 10/3

Warm Up (2 rounds):

• 15 min walk
• Samson stretch
• 15 rolling v-sits
• 10 mountain climbers
• 10 fire hyrdrants
• 10 twist lunges

Workout (5 rounds):

• 15 ball slams
• 10 split lunges

Friday, 10/5

Warm Up (2 rounds):

• 15 min walk
• Samson stretch
• 15 sit ups
• 15 air squats

Workout (3 rounds)

• 30 Russian Swings
• 20 air squats
• 20 toes-to-bar or leg lifts

Meals

Monday, 10/1

Sirlion burgers with fried egg on bed of lettuce and tomatoes

Tuesday, 10/2

Italian Meatballs with Red Sauce & Italian Sausage over spaghetti squash with salad

Wednesday, 10/3

Gyros with Greek Salad

Thursday, 10/4

Slow smoked chicken leg quarters with bacon-blue cheese Brussels Sprouts

Friday, 10/5

Grilled shrimp and tilapia with steamed green beans and salad

Saturday, 10/6

Dinner out with grandma and grampy to celebrate birthdays!

Sunday, 10/7

Slow-cooked barbecued hot wings with rapini and salad

Workouts and Meals for Week of 9-24-12

Back at the blog--going to try to be more consistent by posting just once a week (bit off more than I could chew previously.  Will combine my planned workouts with the meal plan.  Where I am using meals with recipes from websites I follow, I will include a link to that specific recipe.  I am also working on compiling video references of each of the exercises listed in the warm ups and workouts.  I will be doing a post that can be referenced with videos of all the workouts.

One thing to note about the workouts below--I'm still recovering from a shoulder injury I suffered in June when I went down hard on my road bike.  I broke my humerus right at the shoulder joint and, though I just "graduated" from physical therapy, won't be able to do any upper body exercises for another 6 weeks or so.

In addition to my morning workouts, also walked the dogs twice daily for 20 minutes each, and completed a 27-mile road cycling ride around Lake Elsinore with Michelle today.  Great ride, though temp was into the 90's for the last 12 miles or so.

Workouts

Monday, 9/24

Warm Up (2 rounds):

• 15 min walk
• Samson stretch
• 15 sit ups
• 15 air squats

Workout (3 rounds):

• 30 Russian Swings
• 30 second plank

Wednesday, 9/26

Warm Up (2 rounds):

• 15 min walk
• Samson stretch
• 15 rolling v-sits
• 10 mountain climbers
• 10 fire hyrdrants
• 10 twist lunges

Workout (5 rounds):

• 15 ball slams
• 15 box jumps

Friday, 9/28

Warm Up (2 rounds):

• 15 min walk
• Samson stretch
• 15 sit ups
• 15 air squats

Workout (3 rounds)

• 30 Russian Swings
• 20 air squats
• 20 split lunges

Meals

Monday, 9/24

Sirlion burgers with fried egg on bed of lettuce and tomatoes

Tuesday, 9/25

Spicy meatballs with salad

Wednesday, 9/26

Dinner out for Niall's 22nd birthday!

Thursday, 9/27

Hot dogs and hot links for Eoin's 5th birthday!

Friday, 9/28

Grilled pork chops with steamed green beans and salad

Saturday, 9/29

Dinner out with grandma and grampy to celebrate birthdays!

Sunday, 9/30

Slow-cooked barbecued hot wings with rapini and salad

Healthy Choices in Sin City?

Been off the blog for a bit--that time of the school year for me, but now I'm back on track.  A few weekends ago I was presented yet another challenge to my goal of making healthier choices.  I attended a mini-reunion in Las Vegas.  Las Vegas is not my favorite place to visit.  I don't particularly like to gamble, and so on past visits, the only thing I ever found compelling were the cheap and bountiful buffets.  While Michelle hit the slots, I hit the Rio, or Mirage, or Caesar's, or you-name-it buffet.  Basically, I gambled with my weight, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels.

While I wanted to avoid the extreme food sins of past visits, I also wanted to ensure I enjoyed this one.  I went with no intention of completing restricting myself (see the 80/20 Principle in the--post).   However, I also wanted to be strategic so I did not come home with any major regrets.

First, we stayed off the strip in a non-casino.  The Embassy Suites is a great place to stay, just a few blocks from the casinos, that offers a fantastic free omelet breakfast.  By staying here, I knew it would be easy to avoid the breakfast buffet temptation, but still be able to enjoy a satisfying meal.

Second, we planned our meal locations carefully.  We again went off strip, first to a renowned steakhouse and next to a Korean Barbecue.  The latter was actually a second choice to a Japanese grill that proved too crowded upon arrival, but as an alternative, gave us what my friend Tracy dubbed an "all you can meat" experience.  Relatively on track with my eating style, but absolutely delicious.

Finally, I wanted to make sure I got my exercise in.  We got up and did our Crossfit workout at the 6am class before leaving Friday so that I had that under my belt.  And on Saturday, instead of going to the casinos, I planned a great hike up at Red Rock Canyon, just west of Las Vegas.  It was a great hike--challenging enough to be great exercise with spectacular views of the amazing rock formations and the courageous (or crazy) rock climbers.

So that's the theme again--balanced approach to make healthier living doable--and careful planning to make healthy choices fit in to any circumstance. 

Here's the meals for the next 10 days--

Tues, 5/22:
Grilled ribeye steaks with steamed string beans

Wed, 5/23:
Crockpot hot wings from the Civilized Caveman with salad

Thur, 5/24:
Crockpot Cuban Pork Lettuce Wraps from Paleomg

Fri, 5/25:
Grilled brats with steamed artichokes and salad

Sat, 5/26:
Prime Rib with steamed bacon-blue cheese brussel spouts--birthday celebration #1

Sun, 5/27:
Dining out--birthday celebration #2

Mon, 5/28:
Dining out--birthday celebration #3

Tues, 5/29:
Bacon-wrapped stuffed chicken breasts with steamed broccoli

Wed, 5/30:
Jambalaya from Paleomg

Thur, 5/31
Grilled smoke sausage with grilled peppers and onions

This week's WODs:

Mon, 5/21:

Push Press
3-3-3-1-1-1

3 Rounds:
10 Deadlifts
15 Pushups
400 meter run

Wed, 5/23:2

Good Mornings
3 X 10

Row 500M
21-15-9
Hang Power Clean (115-95/85-65)
Dips

Meal Plan & WODs for Week of April 23

Behind schedule planning for this week, but still able to stay on track by creating some quick meals using leftovers, such as the pork in the stir fry below and the chicken for the Cobb salad, with lots of fresh vegetables that we had on hand. 

This weekend will be a challenge due to reunion events I will be attending, but following the 80/20 Principle I learned from Mark's Daily Apple, I will enjoy without allowing it to derail me as has often happened in the past.

Meal Plan:

Monday: Pork stir fry with broccoli, snow peas, mushrooms, carrots, tomatoes, garlic, and gluten free soy sauce--no rice!

Tuesday: Chicken Cobb salad with uncured bacon and blue cheese crumbles.

Wednesday: Brats with Brussel sprouts and salad.

Thursday: Gyro plate from Daphnes with double salad, no rice!

Fri-Sat: Dining out at reunion events.

Sunday: Slow-smoked chicken leg quarters and grilled asparagus.

Monday WOD: Mountain biking on local trails

Tuesday WOD--Crossfit:

At each 1 minute station, you have 1 minute to complete:
3 Tire Flips
9 Wallball
12 Russian Swings
15 Box Jumps
1 minute rest.
Repeat for a total of 5 Rounds.

WODs, Meals, & Taxes

Nothing could derail my best laid diet plans like a stressful situation. And tax week is among the most stressful experiences many of us face. Last year at this time, I was likely seeking solace from my tax-anxiety at any one of the dozens of fast food drive thrus that have sprouted up on seemingly every corner in our community (I remember when there were only a handful of such restaurants when we first moved to Southwest Riverside County 20 years ag0). Whether I found any comfort, even fleetingly, from these binges is debatable, but the stress was certainly a convenient excuse for stuffing my face.
So how do I combat this tendency? What's working right now is careful planning. The combination of scheduling in my exercise and outlining all of my meals for the week has proven to be a powerful preventative measure. And keeping the meals simple and easy to prepare has been essential. For example, the breakfast scramble you see to the left was a quick and delicious meal this morning that kept me fueled and on track throughout the day. It's simply some gluten-free chicken breakfast sausage, peppers, which I had chopped up the night before while preparing some chili, and eggs. Took no time at all to prepare, but the key was having those ingredients ready because I knew ahead of time that this would be the breakfast meal for today.

Planning dinner is equally important. If nothing firm is set, then it is all-too-easy to go off the rails and head to the drive thru. But again, if the plans call for something too complicated to prepare, then it is also easy to put off that home cooked meal and to instead go out for something quick, easy, and less healthy. The dinner pictured to the right is a great example. Shrimp and tilapia, pan fried in a healthy oil and seasoned simply with Cajun spice, with a side of steamed organic asparagus (frozen). We even garnished with some Paleo cocktail sauce--a simple mixture of Paleo ketchup and horse radish. Took maybe 15 minutes to prepare (and served with a flourish on our finest paper plates). However, if it wasn't planned out ahead of time with all ingredients ready, it would have been easy to skip this meal, especially at the end of a busy, stressful day.

So planning has been the biggest lesson. That's why I'm posting my meal plan for the week each Sunday along with my shopping list to share with you and hopefully contribute to your success. Until I started doing that, it was far too easy for me to be lured in by that Siren call: "Hello, may I take your order?"

WODs this week:
Mon--

Press
3-3-3-3-3-3

8 Alternating Tabata cycles each movement (16 total intervals):
Russian Kettlebell Swings
Pushups

Tabata cycles mean you do as many reps in 20 seconds of the first drill, rest 10 seconds, do 20 seconds of as many of the 2nd one, and so on, until you've done 8 of each drill. You count only the lowest number of reps, which is the big challenge. For example, my lowest number on the KB swings was 11, and on the pushups 6. As you can imagine, it gets tougher and tougher with each cycle.

Wed--

Back Squat
3-3-3-1-1-1

30 Dumbbell Walking Lunges
15 V-Ups
125 Meter Run
30 Dumbbell Walking Lunges
20 Knees To Elbow
125 Meter Run
30 Dumbbell Walking Lunges
30 Sit-Ups
125 Meter Run

Meal Plan for 4-16-12

Meal Plan Week of 4-16-12

Mon: Grilled shrimp and tilapia with Paleo cocktail sauce and salad

Tues: Smokey bacon chili over sweet potatoes--recipe from Paleomg

Wed: Southwest meatloaf--recipe from Paleomg--with bacon-blue cheese Brussel Sprouts

Thur: Crockpot hot wings--recipe from Civilized Caveman

Fri: Smoked avocado lime pork chops--recipe from Civilized Caveman

Sat: Fundraiser dinner party

Sun: Grilled chicken and asparagus

Shopping list:

Eggs
4 lbs Ground beef
Shrimp
Pork chops

Chicken wings
15 oz can fire roasted tomatoes
Justin's almond butter
85% cacao dark chocolate
Sweet potatoes
Green peppers
Red peppers
Yellow peppers
Yellow onions
Spaghetti squash
Romaine
Brussel sprouts

WOD and Workout Approach

So you may be wondering why I'm only posting my WOD, or Workout of the Day, about 3-4 times per week. Most of us our conditioned (no pun intended) when it comes to fitness to think that more is better. But my current approach, influenced heavily by Mark Sisson's book The Primal Blueprint and his website Mark's Daily Apple, has a definite less-is-more focus.

I was, of course, skeptical, believing that weight loss success would require at least 6 days a week of heavy cardio. This was the approach I took when I started this journey almost two years ago as described in my Inaugural Blog, and even though I could not sustain it (lack of time/constant injury), I believed it was the correct approach. It wasn't until I started to do some research as I started out with Crossfit IV last November that I learned there was an approach to fitness that was not only more sustainable, it was more effective.

While I will get into more details in future posts, the basic workout philosophy I learned from The Primal Blueprint and have been using ever since is as follows:

• Lift heavy things 3 times per week
• Move frequently at a slow pace
• Sprint, all out effort, every 7-10 days

Of course, this workout plan is only one aspect--the diet is the most important component--and Sisson provides a nice overview of both the diet and workout basics on The Primal Blueprint Diagram page. The good news is, you can essentially follow this from home without any expensive equipment and do quite well--in fact, if you subscribe to Mark's Daily Apple, you will receive, for free, all the tools and resources you need, including videos of body-weight exercises that take care of the "lift heavy things" component. What it looks like for me is:

• Crossfit 3 times per week (I'll explain why this is the best way for me to get my lifting done in a future post) which provides a nice combination of functional drills that incorporate lifting and mobility workouts
  
• Walking, mostly my dogs, every day, 1-2 times per day, along with frequent leisurely bike rides, and at least one long hike or bike ride each week
  
• Windsprints or bike intervals ever 1-2 weeks

I have found this to be a perfect blend--easy to follow and fit in my busy schedule, varied enough to keep me interested, motivated and injury free, and, perhaps most important, fun. As a result, unlike past workout initiatives, I've been able to stick to this one much longer than a few weeks.

So here is today's WOD--and hopefully the above gives it some perspective:

WOD for 4-14-12

Warm Up:
400 M run
Samson Stretch
Air Squats
Abmat Sit Ups
Planks

WOD:
AMRAP 8 (As Many Rounds as Possible in 8 minutes)
5 Man Makers
10 Ball Slams

What's a Man Maker?