Somebody's Getting STRONGER

It's only Thursday - which means I'm only three workouts into the five-day peak week - but I couldn't resist.

Operation: Get Strong Without Getting Fat seems to be going pretty damn well.

Monday, April 30: front squats. 85x3-115x2-135x1-150x1-160x1-170x1.  PR.  Previous PR was 155 for two.  Fond memories of when I couldn't get 115 out of the hole...now I'm front squatting over my bodyweight. Metcon: tabata burpees (laaaaaaame).  Score - 55.  Meh.

Tuesday May 1: snatch. 53x2 ugly, 53x2, 63x2, 73x1, 83x1, 88x1.  Pressed it out because I didn't get all the way under, but PR nonetheless.  I have added 20 pounds to my max snatch in the last couple of months - I was stuck at 68 for a while, and then stuck at 73 for what seemed like forever.  I am still FAR from good at this, but am feeling things come together.  Metcon: 5 rounds for max reps of 60 seconds single-arm snatching (30 seconds strong arm/30 seconds weak arm) with 30 seconds of rest.  Implement was up to us.  I really dislike kettlebell snatches, and I find it awkward to hold a dumbbell with plates on it, so I decided to use a barbell.  My first round was a little awkward while I settled into a rhythm, but then it got kind of fun.  35lbs (training bar with bumper 10s) - 67 total reps.  This was a good training move for me, since it forced me not to pull with my arms and to use my hips instead (you know, like you're supposed to).

Wednesday May 2: deadlift day. I was looking forward to this all day long. 135x3-175x2-215x1-245x1-275x1 (PR)-285x1 (PR!).  285 was a little slow and I could feel my back rounding JUUUUUUUST a bit, but there was no doubt in my mind I was getting it up.  SO HAPPY about this. I have 55 days, give or take, to add 15 pounds to that number.  Metcon: 21-15-9 american kettlebell swings (1.5/1pood)/pull ups. 6:53 as RX'ed.  Kettlebell swings were really fast and easy; grip and forearms were destroyed and my pull ups were STUPID slow, since I did them in sets of 1 or 2 and dropped off the bar in between.

So...I'm three for three in terms of PRs this week, and I'm really fucking happy with my deadlift.  But I know why you all come here.

For pictures of dogs in raincoats.

Vietnam, Varga, Vici

so I'm a big fan of LMFAO, at least while I'm working out...but seriously, "I'm runnin' through these hoes like Drano" is disturbingly vulgar.

Just...ew.

We headed to Chinatown for dinner with some friends last night.  I love Vietnam, but the last time I was there was the night before the Broad Street Run back in 2010.  I remember carb-loading with a crap-ton of rice with my usual salt and pepper squid.  My, how times have changed.

Started with an extra-dirty martini upstairs at Bar Saigon while we waited for our table.

It's pretty easy to stay generally Paleo here.  I wouldn't be surprised to find out the sauces contain a decent amount of cornstarch and soy, but I'm just not strict enough to worry about something like that when I'm only eating it once every couple of months (or, in this case, once every couple of years).  I didn't snap a pic of my appetizer, but I started with grilled octopus (topped with crushed peanuts...see previous sentence).  Entree was the pork claypot.

That shit was fucking delicious.

After a short and overwhelming stint a couple doors down at Yakitori Boy (holy seizure-inducing lights, batman), we headed home...since I had an early date for a double session at CFCC, followed by an essential refeeding session at Varga.

Steak and eggs for protein, potatoes for leptin refeeding, bloody mary for essential horseradish replacement.

I've spent most of the rest of the day lazed the fuck out on my couch.  I just watched three episodes of Khloe and Lamar (not even remotely ashamed of this) and am on my second King of Queens now.  Something about the rain makes me plant my butt under a pile of fleece and refuse to move...except to do this.

Judge away.  Matching yellow raincoats may be undignified, but it beats the hell out of trying to dry Sophie off before she runs upstairs and rolls around on my beautiful silk rug.

Workout log:

Monday April 16: My quads were very sore and tight after the 80 medball slams at the Rumble, so I spent an extra 10 minutes or so before class making sweet love to a foam roller and lacrosse ball.  Box jumps for height - worked up to 33" - which may not seem like much, but it's more than half my height, so I'll take that.   Front squat for a peak of three. 85x5 to warm, then sets of three: 85-115-140-155x2, dumped the bar on my third.  Metcon: 100 American kettlebell swings for time.  My left shoulder is still a little wonky, so I did russian swings instead.  With a 24kg kettlebell, 4:27.  I don't suck at kettlebell swings.

Tuesday April 17: snatch.  Getting much, much better at this. 53x2, 53x2, 63x2, 73x1, 78x1, 83x1 (PR).  I still pull with my arms a little bit, but I'm actually dropping down under the bar, so that's a big improvement.  Metcon: Four Leaf Clover. For time, four rounds of 20 jump squats/250m run.  My legs were still sore and were absolutely screaming for this.  6:44.

Thursday, April 19: squat cleans. 73x2, 88x2, 103x2, 118x1, 128F, 128F, 128F.  GAAAAAAH.  I was so close on this - it would have been a five-pound PR - but I just CANNOT stop myself from cranking with my arms.  Next week this is mine.  Metcon: For time, five rounds of 30 walking lunges with a plate overhead (45/25), 15 burpees to a plate.  I started this barefoot, since I just ripped off my oly shoes.  Surprisingly, the burpees and the lunges were kind of murderous on my toes, so I wasted a good minute after finishing my second rounds of lunges putting my other shoes back on.  15:23 as RX'ed.  Woof.

Friday April 20: beach muscle Friday.  Bench press, peak of 3: 45-75-90-100-105-110F (two reps, then stuck at the bottom of the third).  Metcon: 5 rounds of 30 unbroken double unders followed immediately by max strict pull ups.  Lynne-style, so no time component, and score was total pull ups.  Uhhh...yeah.  I intended to do this RXed, but after being unable to complete more than 20 unbroken DUs during my first three attempts, I decided to call it a day and scaled to 15.  Score - 15 total pull ups (supinated grip; 3/3/2/4/3).

Saturday April 21: Mindy.  20 minute AMRAP, 3 strict handstand pushups - 6 strict pull ups - 9 pistols.  Scaled with partial range of motion HSPUs and single-leg squats to a white box.  8 rounds plus three pull ups.

Sunday April 22: gymnastics followed by regular session.  Gymnastics - handstand walking.  I don't really do this well, but I managed to get a few steps a couple of times.  Metcon: 

15 minute AMRAP of 20' handstand walking, 5 toes to bar and 5 candle rolls to tuck jump. 

Score: 5 rounds plus four toes to bar.  

This was fun, but I was saving it a little bit for the next metcon.  Regular session - farmers walk.  My grip was a little weak from the toes to bar, but I completed three 30' passes - 200lbs, 280lbs and 320lbs.  I dropped the right handle twice during the 320lb walk, which is frustrating, but whatever.  

Metcon:  

Took a third crack at the Open WOD 12.5 - an ascending ladder of thrusters and chest-to-bar pull ups.  On my first date with 12.5, I no-repped a crapton of pullups, mainly because I got high enough but didn't touch my chest to the bar.  On our second date, I figured out that the tiny amount of energy I expended doing a second kip to make sternum-to-metal contact was far more efficient than doing extra pullups, and got 51 total reps, or through the round of 9, plus 12 thrusters and 3 pull ups.  

Today?

I managed to beat my actual score from the open by four reps - making it to 7 pull ups, for a total of 55 reps.  I earned my brunch, bitches.

Good Friday Indeed

My office is closed today. And, while we had been planning on heading up to visit PhillyGuy's family this weekend, he's been knocked on his ass by a really nasty cold, so I think we're going to stick around here. So...it's kind of a bonus day for me.

This means that, even though I had to get a couple hours of work in this morning, I got to do it from the comfort of my own bed. And then leisurely make some eggs and leftover pork, and watch the entire Today show, and feed the dogs some sorbet...

...and then eventually cleaned myself up a little bit and headed to CFCC for the noon class.

After I seriously PR'ed today's metcon (more than two minutes faster than my prior time - which was scaled) I grabbed an iced coffee and wandered around the city for a bit until I started to get hungry.

(Incidentally...I'm not really doing the Whole30. I've been having heavy cream in my coffee every day. I haven't had anything processed at all, or anything with added sugars, or chocolate, so I guess there's that - but yeah. Not so much the Whole30. Sorry I'm not sorry.)

It was beautiful out - sunny and a little warm - and I drifted in and out of Macy's, Banana Republic and Lululemon. I've been working on clearing all of the too-big stuff out of my closet, which has left me with some pretty limited options, but for some reason I'm having trouble finding new stuff to replace it with. (Talk about first world problems.)

By the time I made it home around 3, I was definitely ready for lunch. And some daytime TV.

In the mix:

small head of romaine lettuce, an entire can of sliced black olives, half an avocado, a bunch of rotisserie chicken shredded up, and about a quarter of a jar of Green Mountain Gringo roasted chili salsa. (God, I love that stuff).

So, yes. A good Friday, indeed.

Workout log:

- Tuesday 4/3: front squat, peak of 2. 80-120-130-130-140. Metcon: 21-15-9 front squat (155/115), russian kettlebell swings (2/1.5pood). 10:25 as RX'ed. WOOF.

- Thursday, 4/5: I had a hot date with some lady friends Thursday night, and we were planning to travel this weekend, so I sucked it up and went to the 6am class. Longer metcon - Christine. 3 rounds for time of row 500m, 12 bodyweight deadlifts, 21 box jumps (24/20").

15:24, as RXed.

Two things: my bodyweight deadlift is now 145 (!), and I shaved almost three minutes off my previous time, which I scaled to 115lbs or 50% of my then-max. I still hate rowing and am not really good at it.

- Friday, 4/6: overhead squats, peak of 5. Couple sets with the bar to warm up, then 65-80-80-85. Meh. Metcon: Jeremy. 21-15-9 overhead squats (95/65) and burpees. Last time I did this was in mid-October. I used 55lbs then and finished in 9:19. Today? I did it RX'ed in 7:10. AND I snatched into the first rep each set - the very first was probably one of my best snatches to date, actually, since I managed to get all the way under the bar. Too bad I couldn't quite replicate that for 15 and 9. Anyway - beastmode.

Upgrade Monday

Nothing like ending your Monday with grassfed ribeye grilled with truffle salt.

Truffle salt courtesy of Fab.com, my new favorite "flash sale" site.

Also pictured: mushroom salt and magic unicorn salt...which I realize is basically just expensive, fancy Season-All, but damned if it's not delicious on everything. Kind of like regular, cheap, non-fancy Season-All.

It wasn't even a particularly rough Monday - work is manageable, no crises came up today, and I did 42 strict pull-ups in today's metcon. Really, I guess it was a pretty decent day. Regardless, I'm happy to upgrade it with some cowshare steak.

Workout log:

Tuesday 3/27 - front squat, peak of 3. I must have tweaked my left hip flexor doing single leg squats the day before, because I couldn't get below parallel without a crazy tightness on that side. Did three sets and then stopped, spending the next 5-10 minutes of class with a kettlebell and lacrosse ball, trying to ease the tightness. 85-115-125. Metcon - three rounds, Lynne-style, of max pronated strict pull ups immediately followed by max ring dips. 3/1-3/1-3/0, as RX'ed. That last attempt at a ring dip was REALLY bad.

Thursday 3/29 - freestanding handstand work. I couldn't do the regular metcon due to hip pain, since it started with 100 air squats and 75 walking lunges, so I did a special snowflake workout: 5 rounds of 60 second handstand hold, 15 hollow rocks, 15 superman rocks, 10 American kettlebell swings with 1.5pood. HOLY SHOULDERS. 15:15, including about a minute or so of time at the beginning spent dicking around to figure out a substitute workout.

Friday 3/30 - DEADLIFTS. My favorite. Peak set of 3: 135-165-205-225-235. We played red light/green light for the metcon. Ridiculously fun.

Saturday 3/31 - some practice with the squat clean and thruster. I was fine with just the 45-lb bar, but once I added tens, my hip was screaming again. Metcon was a Fight-Gone-Bad style AMRAP - 3 rounds of 60 seconds each, row (for calories), hang squat clean (95/65), thruster (95/65). Subbed hang power cleans and push presses; total score was 118.

Monday 4/2 - strict press, peak of 3. 43-63-73-83F-78. Metcon: descending ladder of thrusters (45/33) and strict L pull ups, 50/15-40/12-30/9-20/6. Subbed strict supinated pull ups for the L pull ups. 16:51. The fact that I can do 42 bodyweight pull ups without failing a single one - no matter how long it took me - still kind of blows my mind, since I was so unspeakably bad at pull ups just a couple of months ago.

I WON!

(clearly we're not talking about the Hybrid Strongman competition here.)

no - for my second stint at the BCCC, I came in third place. While I'm very, very happy with my prize (which included tiger-print socks, a whole mess of Primal Pacs, and a $25 lululemon gift card), I'm much happier with THIS...

So a long time ago, I started P90X with PhillyGuy. We both loved it and saw some results, but I never really got my nutrition in check, so I didn't see the super-intense results I was hoping for. Hence, I never took "after" pictures with P90X. But...I sure did take before pictures.

That's me - in March 2010, just about two years ago. While I lost about 7 pounds, I put them all back on during the fall of 2010, so this is roughly what I looked like when I joined CFCC in late June 2011, and when I started eating paleo in July.

Now, after (i) starting to eat paleo, initially about 90% of the time; (ii) going through a BCCC in October 2011 where I really got consistent, gave up artificial sweeteners, and stopped eating fruit, almond butter and Larabars every day; and (iii) going through another BCCC in January 2012, where I really worked on being strict, by omitting all chocolate, nuts, cream in my coffee, and even limiting fat and fibrous/cruciferous vegetables, here's where I am now (or, where I was in early February).

Um...BAM. That's 18-ish pounds down, four inches off of my waist, a couple inches off of my hips, and so, so much healthier.

And the reality is that today, as I sit here in my bed typing this up, I'm down another couple of pounds from THAT picture, even having loosened my restrictions a bit (hello, daily coffee with heavy cream, and weekly bar of chocolate).

I kind of struggled with putting these pictures out there, since this blog isn't exactly super-anonymous, but the fact is...I'm proud of this shit. I'm REALLY proud of discovering what works for me and being consistent with it, and I'm REALLY proud that I've become so strong and kind of jacked.

So I used my $25 gift card to put towards some real colorful Wunder Unders...

...which I wore last night to work towards my goal of pulling 300lbs by June. We're getting there.

Last night involved a lot of steak, a lot of scrabble, and a lot of this:

SO GOOD.

Workout log for my post-Hybrid week:

Monday, 2/27: overhead squats, peak set of three. After a set of 5 to warm up with an empty bar - 65-75-85-95-100. 100 felt pretty good and solid, so I'm happy with that - I haven't done an overhead squatting cycle yet, so I have no idea what my max might be. Metcon: tabata ab wheel rollouts followed by tabata hollow rocks. Score is your lowest number of reps of each workout - 6 rollouts + 8 rocks = 14. MEH.

Wednesday, 2/29: oly. Snatched to 63lbs, mostly off of blocks to work on the second and third pulls. Clean & jerk to 115 - felt REAL GOOD on this. I got some new cues from Jim, the olympic lifting coach, at Sunday's lighter session, regarding keeping my arms straight and "snapping the bar like a pencil," which have helped me get my elbows around faster.

Thursday, March 1: two-a-day. I went to the gym at 7am to do the second Crossfit Games Open WOD, which was a snatch ladder of sorts. AMRAP in ten minutes, 30 snatches at 45lbs - 30 at 75lbs - 30 at 100lbs - max at 120lbs. Since my max was 73lbs, I was just hoping to get one or two at 75. Killed it - 44 total, 30 at 46lbs and 14 at 76lbs (weird loads due to working with the ladies' bar). Repeating this one today now that I know I can move the weight for so many reps, and shooting to bring my score up to 50.

Second workout: regular CFCC session. WAY more fatigued from 12.2 than I realized. Hang squat cleans, 2 on the minute each minute for 10 minutes. Started with 83lbs for the first 3 or 4 rounds, up to 93 for the rest. I could have gone up but didn't want to - holy hell was I tired. Front squat, peak of three. 103-123-143x1, failed on the second. WAY TIRED. Metcon - three rounds for time, short loop run, 25 box jumps (20"), 50 doubleunders. I scaled this to 100 singles and used the jump rope time as my recovery, since I just wanted to finish this. 12:20.

Friday 3/2: DEADLIFFIN! sumo deadlift, peak of 3. Sumo deadlifts are more difficult for me than conventional, but this day felt strong. 135-165-195-205-215-235. Happy with pulling 235 for 3 - I'm feeling better about my goal of pulling 300 (conventional) by June. (Also, my other goal of pulling 2x bodyweight is now down to 296. Woot.) Metcon: tabata row for calories. I want to punch rowing in the face, even when I'm only doing it for 20 seconds at a time. Score: 53.

happy Saturday!

Fran Again

I know I must be unbearable these days, since pretty much all I ever do is brag about how much progress I've made, both strength-wise and body-comp-wise. But this is my blog, and I get to do whatever I want.

So we're going to brag again.

From my workout log: here are the six-month goals I set for myself in January, aiming to achieve by the end of June - approximately a year since I started at CFCC.



We haven't deadlifted in a while so I have no idea how I'm progressing to pulling 300, but I'm feeling good about most of them - though maybe 5 deadhangs is ambitious. That shit is tough. But anyway - there are two goals there related to Fran, both made on the heels of my last Fran about a month ago. That time, I completed it in 10:24 using a mini-band for the pull ups.

Last night, we Franned again. And I decided to go RX'ed. There was a 10-minute cap, so I figured that I probably wouldn't finish, but at least I'd give it a shot. You know what's coming.

I FINISHED, BITCHES. 45 thrusters and 45 pull ups in 9:47. And it wasn't that bad - I have a lot more in me, especially once I can string together more than two or three kipping pullups. Sub-9 next time.

I am so goddamn proud of myself. I've gone from taking over 13 minutes to do this with a green/"average" band - and being unable to complete more than one pull up at a time with that band - to RX'ing it in just a few months. AND I killed both of my Fran-related goals months ahead of "deadline." Dear everyone: eat Paleo, do crossfit, and be super-badass.

And now a few gratuitous pictures, since I have no further content at all.

On Sunday, I was all bitter because I had to spend the afternoon at work after intro to oly. And the heat isn't on here on the weekends. So there I sat, at my desk, in an earflap hat, flashdance-style cutout t-shirt, and super-baggy sweatpants, praying that no one else was in. (And wow, my eyebrows need a weed-whacker.)



Breakfast this morning (and almost every morning): chicken sausage (found a great brand at Costco - roasted red pepper and spinach flavor, no added sugar or funky ingredients), two over-easy eggs, and a handful of raw spinach.







BAAAAH I rock.





Workout log:





Tuesday, 2/14: Skill work with strict muscle ups. False grip bodyweight pull up; got a muscle-up with two mini bands; many attempts with one mini band and mini+micro bands. GOD THESE ARE SO HARD. Metcon: 30 burpee pull ups for time, 3:40.





Wednesday, 2/15: Front squat to peak of one. 65x3, 95x2, 115x1, 130x1, 145x1 (PR!), 155x1 (PR!). I have more in me - starting heavier next time. FRAAAAAAAN. 21-15-9 thrusters (95/65) and pull ups. 9:47, as RX'ed.

Achievements and Not So Much

First of all...Mama PhillyGirl is getting married tomorrow. Yes. Tomorrow is my mother's wedding. I took today off so I could get last-minute errands done, and join my mom to get our nails done. Probably going to pick up a couple little splits of champagne on the way there so we can really class it up.

Anyway. I took advantage of my day off by hitting up CFCC for the 8am class, which I've never done before - weekday mornings are a completely different group than my usual 6:30/7:30pm bunch. Today was front squatting.

Today was disappointing.

My front squat max is 140. This week is "peak week," which means that everyone who's spent the last four weeks working on their lifts is PR'ing all over the place.

Not me. The fact is, between my workload and my foot injury, I just haven't been spending time in the gym, and it showed. My squats:

Yup, that's where I failed my prior max twice. TWICE. So frustrating. I understand why and all that, but frankly, it sucks and it's disheartening.

Metcon was a little more fun.

The focus was on being fast. At the beginning of class, I tested my 50 double-unders and it did not go fabulously - I did the first 20 or so unbroken, and then couldn't string together more than one or two after that. So, with 100 singles (completed mostly unbroken), 1 pood kettlebell swings (completed first round unbroken, second round 23/7), and 15 pull ups with light + mini bands (5, then 4, then doubles and singles), 3:43 and 4:17. That didn't suck as much.

Last night: handstand walking skill work. Meh. This is another source of frustration, since I'm good at handstands but for some reason find it difficult to get all the way up (TWSS) on the mat, so I never end up actually walking. Metcon: AMRAP 60 seconds each air squats, strict pull ups, row for calories. Scoring 1 point per squat, 1 point per pull up, 3 points per calorie. 50/11/20 = 121. That wasn't bad.

I figured I'd recap all of this as I sit here icing my foot and getting ready to get moving on my errands.

(If you're wondering, that would be an ice pack tied around my foot with an undershirt. It ain't fancy but it works.)

The fact is...I don't like not working out. My performance suffers and I get very frustrated very quickly. I'm frustrated that I've been working so much, and I'm frustrated that I hurt myself in such a silly way (really? bruised foot bones from warming up with an empty bar? and WHY am i not healed yet? the doctor said i'd be almost 100% better after a week or 10 days, and it's going on three weeks now).

And it takes away from my accomplishments. Like last night, when I was working on pull ups before class, and I got TWO unassisted, legit deadhang chin ups (palms in) and came SO, SO close to a legit deadhang pull up (palms out). This is huge progress for me, and yet - having to dump the bar twice at 140 this morning completely deflated it.

BAH. Time to get a little cleaned up and out the door. Back soonish, with pictures of my fabulous mom's wedding!

um you guys

seriously, fuck work.

but anyway.

I don't have much of anything interesting to blog about. I've barely been making it to crossfit four times a week (which I do not like) and I'm eating the same thing day in and out (which I do really like).

I did try Rotisseur for lunch last week and was hooked.

Half chicken.

Kale chips.

SO MUCH HOT SAUCE.

Good stuff.

More crossfitting:

- Friday: front squats, peak of 2. Um...after nutts, this was not so pretty. 65-85-105-115-125F-125F. WHAT? my max is 140. Metcon: 3-6-9-12 of thrusters (95/65) and deadhang pull ups. 9:16 with light+mini bands.

- Saturday: Crossfit Endurance. I suck at rowing. I mean, really bad - I'm very uncoordinated. So, you know, I guess I need to do it a whole lot more until I don't suck at it. 1:00 on, 1:00 rest, 3:00 on, 2:00 rest, 4:00 on, 3:00 rest, 5:00 on, at 90% effort for max distance. Total: 3041 meters. Not awful, but plenty of room for improvement.

- Sunday: My foot is STILL not 100% healed and was pretty sore, so I opted out of intro to oly and did a bunch of jumping pull ups throughout the day on the door frame bar in my guest room. That goal I had of doing a bodyweight deadhang pull up by year end? Yeah, that's coming up FAST.

- Monday: couple sets of pull ups before class - 4x1 with mini band; 3 or 4x3 with light band. Squat cleans: 65x2 + jerk, 65x2+ push press, 65x2, 75x2 + push press, 85x1, 95x1, 95x1, 105x1. I am FINALLY starting to figure out the third pull. Metcon: Grace. 30 clean & jerks (or ground-to-overhead however) for time, 135/95. Last time we did this was on Halloween - I started that with 85lbs and dropped to 75 after failing my third rep three times. This time, I started with 75 and finished in 4:47 - more than THREE MINUTES faster than my prior time of 7:58. Um, time to start doing this one RXed, I think.

I missed the last two nights due to work and I'm feeling it. Life was a little easier when I was able to get to the gym six days a week - while that's kind of like "duh" - if you have enough free time to spend most of your evenings working out, of course that'll be less stressful than those nights you find yourself working until after ten - there's also a bit of a chicken-and-egg thing there, too. Would I be a little less frantic and working a little more efficiently if I took he time to sweat? Probably.

Meh.

It's Christmastime Bitches

I LOVE decorating for Christmas.

And every year, I insist on doing it the weekend after Thanksgiving. It puts me in a good mood. Most years, I also insist that we watch "Love Actually" while we're decorating, but this year I was feeling the Muppets.



Our tree is nothing special - a prelit special from Target a few years ago - but it's easy.



This year, I added lights in the kitchen, on my new(ish) shelves.



I'm pretty sure at least half of our ornaments are dog-themed.



Even though the dogs are really not impressed by the tribute.





...at all.



(She spent half the evening wigging out about the tree, the lights, the boxes of ornaments, etc., and then, when she had exhausted herself, laid on the floor looking depressed.)

Later in the week, I crockpotted a London broil from my cow share. Since London broil is a fairly lean cut of beef, I figured it would do well with a low-and-slow cooking time, but I was having a tough time trying to come up with just what to braise it in. After my initial google search turned up a disturbing number of "recipes" including ingredients like canned cream-of-something soup and packets of ranch dressing mix (or italian dressing mix or brown gravy mix), I just decided to wing it. I chose not to brown the meat first, covered it with salt, pepper and granulated garlic, and put it on top of a layer of sliced onions in the crockpot. I added a couple cups of beef broth, topped it with mushrooms, and called it good.



Hours later, it looked promising. My house smelled amazing and the meat fell apart to the touch. I paired it with some kale sauteed with a slice of bacon and eagerly dug in.

Meh. The flavors were delicious, but because the meat is so lean, it was kind of dry and stringy despite all the broth and juices. I think it either needs to be browned first OR to be cooked in something a little fattier. Or just not crockpotted at all. Le sigh.

Like I said last week, work has been insane. I went two solid weeks without my usual evening crossfit sessions, and it's been taking its toll on my sanity. Even though my foot is STILL not 100%, I'm getting back into it this week, slowly but surely:

- Tuesday: strict muscle up skill work. Practicing false grip hang; did about a billion false grip ring pull ups, starting with a light band and working up to two mini bands. Tried one mini band and just hung there like a fish, so there's that. Metcon: AMRAP, 3 rounds of 1 minute ring rows, 1 minute push ups, 1 minute double-unders. It's freaking hard to do double unders after two minutes of ring rows and push ups. 120 reps total (tried for the last 15 seconds to get JUST ONE MORE double under and couldn't).

- Thursday: hero WOD. "Nutts."



Things I cannot do with my bum foot: box jumps and weighted running (non-weighted running, too, for that matter). While I probably COULD have done the required wall balls and double-unders, my wise and logical coach advised me not to tempt fate with more jumping. As scaled for my foot: 10 push ups, 15 deadlifts at 165lbs, 25 russian kettlebell swings at 1.5 pood (24kg/52lbs), 50 pull ups (light+mini bands), 100 goblet squats with a 1pood (16kg/35lbs) kettlebell, row 1k. Fuck rowing. By the official 25 minute cap, I had rowed something like 450 meters, maybe less. To complete, 27:32. Worst part mentally was the goblet squats. Getting to 80 reps of something only to realize you still have 20 more? GAAAAAAH.

Tonight we're front squatting and I can't wait. This strength cycle has been really fun (lots of pulling and lots of fun squatting variations - front squats, overhead squats) and I'm so unhappy that I've had to miss so much of it. On the other hand, DTE tells me on I'm on track to bill over 2200 hours this year, so, you know, there's that.

(I read recently that trying to make partner at a law firm is like winning a pie eating contest where the prize is more pie.)

Happy Friday!

Why...

...didn't I learn about this a long time ago?

I've been eating Paleo since sometime this summer. I used to have some form of gluten-based kip meal once or twice a week, and I used to drink gallons of diet soda. Since October 1, I haven't had so much as a sip of diet pepsi and haven't put anything even remotely sweet in my coffee. I've learned how to cook kale and collard greens. I average three-quarters of a pound of bacon a week, plus beef (ground beef, chili, steaks), chicken (though I'm admittedly kind of sick of chicken), and pork (chops for lunch, ribs from Phoebe's for dinner here and there), and eggs (between PhillyGuy and I, two dozen a week).

Everything I eat is delicious. Everything.

And I've gotten so much stronger. This cycle, I PR'ed my front squat by 25 pounds (!), from 115 to 140, and my back squat by 10 pounds, from 165 to 175. My pullups have improved significantly. I can kip with a mini band (and, if I start rested, can kip one unassisted, though I can't get my chin over the bar a second time without resting) and I can rep out five or more with a light band alone.

Since October 1, I've now lost a total of just over ten pounds. I had already lost some fat before that, though I don't know how much (if any) from a weight perspective since I hadn't weighed myself in months and months, but based on how my clothes are fitting (or, more to the point, NOT fitting), I'd guess that I'm down a total of 15 or 20 pounds, and definitely two sizes.

I feel good. I sleep well. I drink a buttload of water and eat a lot of fat and very little sugar. Since the challenge ended, I've been sticking with meat and greens, but have added cream back into my coffee (and oh, I am so glad I did) and have added dark chocolate (Chocolove 77% is my favorite, but Dagoba Beaucoup Berries - 74% with dried cherries and cranberries and vanilla - is a close second) back to my weekends.

The crazy thing about all of this is that I don't even WANT to eat like crap anymore. Now that the challenge is over and I don't have a competitive deadline to meet, I could eat, say, chips and dip if I felt like it. But I just don't. I love the food that I eat, I love how it makes me feel, and I love how it's making me look and perform.

And I love that it gave me a reason to hit the Theory and J.Crew outlets today and buy a new suit, new blazer and new pants. That too.

The Last Ten Days

I suppose this will be more intense than the first 20, but let's see.

To recap: I started by cutting out all artificial sweeteners, eliminating fruit (I could have just cut back on it, but I tend to do better on an all-or-nothing basis), giving up my semi-weekly "kip meals" and adding a little dairy back into my life, in the form of swapping my coconut milk creamer for grass-fed half & half. As the challenge progressed, I limited my intake of chocolate from about half an ounce to an ounce of 77 or 85% about five times a week to Friday and Saturday nights only. I finished the last of my jar of almond butter and didn't buy more, and the only between-meals snack I eat is my precious, precious buffalo jerky. And, starting on October 15, I added in BCAAs pre and post-workout, and am starting to get accustomed to chugging glittery vodka.

I've seen fabulous results even in the short period from October 1 to October 19. I've dropped six or seven pounds and can feel a significant difference in my body composition, in really funny ways - like how my arms feel when I'm washing my hair, or how my lower back feels when I reach back to rub it at work (my desk chair has awful lumbar support), or what my thigh feels like when I brace my forearm against it when I'm putting the dogs' leashes on.

ANYWAY. So now we start the final ten-day stretch, and of course it's time to turn up the intensity.

Starting yesterday (October 20) and continuing through the end of the month, here's my life:



The keys here: meat and greens and animal based fats only. No cruciferous or starchy veggies, like carrots, broccoli, brussels sprouts or beans. No sweet potatoes. No avocado. Continue to get tons of protein in, but instead of cooking with olive oil (which I occasionally do), use butter or animal fat. No more dairy in my coffee.

For a lot of my meals, this isn't a big change. Breakfast, for one.



Look familiar? Messy desk, smoked pulled pork, over-easy eggs. This time I've added a handful of raw spinach (greens). Recently, more out of sheer laziness than anything else, lunch has been almost exclusively protein - this week, for example, PhillyGuy grilled me a ton of pork chops on Sunday afternoon, and that's what I've been bringing to work for lunch. (Thank goodness I can close my office door. There's just something...not professional...about sawing through a fat pork chop with a plastic knife at your desk.) Most days I had been bringing a little bag of raw veggies of some kind (peppers or carrots or green beans), so that's out...but otherwise, minimal change.

Dinner is the big difference - about twice a week I'd have a sweet potato, so that's out. And I have to replace my usual suspects (brussels sprouts, beans) with greens, which of course I need to figure out how to cook properly. Last night I had two chicken sausages, two eggs and a gigantic pile of kale chips, which I tossed in butter, topped with kosher salt and baked for a few minutes until crispy. Not so bad. I'm less enthusiastic about my ability to cook the giant bunch of collard greens I picked up.



And...of course. My best friends. Black coffee and water. So. Much. Water.

Naturally, this stage is not intended to be permanent - this is a "turn-up-the-heat" stage to force my body to burn its own fat so that I can lean out as much as possible in a short period of time. So far, I don't have any issues, but so far, it's only been 24 hours of eating this way, so we'll see how I feel tomorrow or Sunday...when I'm sure my cravings will skyrocket, and everything I see will turn into a walking Chocolove 77% dark chocolate bar, a'la Tom and Jerry. Maybe this isn't the best weekend to start burning my new "salty caramel corn" scented candle.

But sweet jebus it's been worth it. I PR'ed my front squat the other day by 15 pounds, and I was so surprised at how smooth and how good that 130 pounds felt. I did a jumping pullup on my door-mounted bar at home. And every morning, when I put on pants that used to be snug, or - better yet - used to be completely off limits, it's just a fabulous feeling.

Workouts:
- Tuesday: gymnastics. Back extension rolls, bridge-ups with kickover, back limber. I killed the metcon - three rounds for time of 10' bridge walk, 10' forward rolls, 10' plank walk, 10' backward rolls. 6:00 exactly - the key is that I mastered the bridge walk almost immediately. That shit is disorienting.

- Wednesday: front squats, starting with triples and working up to a peak of 1. 65x3-85x3-105x1-120x1-130x1. Natural glute-ham raises. Metcon: AMRAP double-unders in 5:00, 73. My DU's are getting better but I was having trouble stringing more than three or four together.

GBAAAST

Can you call this "fusion?"



Part imitation-PF Chang-lettuce wrap, part taco.



Chicken, corn, mushrooms, onions, and a whole lot of cumin and chili powder. With a salsa blanket, chillin' in little romaine lettuce boats. These were quite messy to eat, but tasty nonetheless.



With a side of Scrabble. PhillyGuy and I play at least a couple times a week. He always seems to get 7-letter words. I get GBAAAST. Quite unfair.

Yesterday, I went with a bunch of CFCC'ers to the grand opening of a new crossfit affiliate in south Jersey - Crossfit 1Force. They're down in Deptford, near where I went to college. Naturally, I took a bunch of pictures, and naturally, I put them all on my laptop and deleted them from my phone...BUT didn't upload them to picasa, so now that I'm posting from work, I'm SOL. Oh well.

Anyway - 1Force. is. AWESOME. The space is amazing - a high-ceiling warehouse/garage style setup with a massive floor. They have shiny new equipment, a pull up bar with varying heights, a buttload of bars and stacks and stacks and stacks of plates. AND they let us play around with everything and led us in a killer 9/11-themed metcon, AND then we got to watch our coaches and some incredibly strong members do the official 9/11 throwdown workout. AND AND AND we had a paleo feast afterwards, with ribs and chicken and pork and copious amounts of Frank's Red Hot.

As we used to say on the Knot (yes, I frequented that website when planning my wedding oh-so-long ago), TPIWWP (this post is worthless without pictures). I know, I know. So let's just recap the rest of my workouts from this week, huh?

After I left off the other day:

- Thursday - KB skillwork and front squats for a peak set of 3. My form is slowly improving, but I seriously need to focus on doing things RIGHT instead of just being like, "ok imma lift some weight now." 65-85-85-100-110 (!). For a set of three, 110 is a 5lb PR for me. I've done 115 for two but failed every time I've attempted it for three. Soooooo I'll take it. Metcon: Tabata american KB swings. Went RX'ed at 1 pood; 85. The high score of the day was 118 and I seriously do NOT get it.

Stayed for gymnastics. More muscle-up work - GOD this highlights how weak my upper body is compared to my lower body. I have got to work harder on this. I suppose I need to get pull ups first, huh? I did this metcon also, because it seemed fun AND to get the extra muscle-up practice. AMRAP in 15 minutes of 4 jumping muscle- ups, 5 tuck ups, 10 rocking hollows. I did 7 rounds even. I also learned that my body simply does not know how to do a tuck jump unless I do it cheerleading style with the arms and everything. I am sure I looked amazing and not like a jackass AT ALL.

Friday: some brief(ish) skillwork on the good morning and the ab wheel rollout. Which was just fantastic because my abs were quite sore from the 70 rocking hollows I did on Thursday night. Metcon: 3 rounds for time of 600m run (twice around the short loop), 50 good mornings (25lbs), 25 ab wheel rollouts. I scaled the rollouts with some band support, which made all the difference in the world, but sweet jebus did they hurt anyway. My goal was to finish in 21 minutes, but I made it in 21:24...which was sort of frustrating, because I had WAY too much gas left in my tank at the end of the third run. Bah.

Sunday: 9/11 tribute WOD at Crossfit 1Force. AMRAP in 9:11 of 9 DLs (225/155), 11 wallballs (20/14), 9 bar-facing burpees, 11 dumbbell thrusters (35/20), 9 wallball slams (20/14), 11 parallel jumps over bar (1 each side = 1 rep). I went RX'ed on all but the DL's, which I scaled to 135 at the advice of Erin. I completed 1 round + 40 reps, or through the thrusters in the second round. I was SHOCKED at how tough the thrusters were, and how many times I missed reps on the wallballs (by not hitting the wall at all - so, so embarassing).