And then there was... more Italian Stew

Do I have to take another picture?  No, I can just reuse the other one.  This whole taking photos of 30 days of strict, low carb paleo + my tendencies for eating the same thing forever = easy!

The lunch bag that's coming with me to work.  Imagine that the level on the pot of stew is now at the half way point.  Which, I guess means more stew tomorrow.  After that, short ribs!  Nom, nom, nom.

Oh, and because I work at the gym tonight so won't be doing my workout until 8:00 p.m., I'm going to take an extra smaller, round container of food to eat at about 7:00 so I'm not crashing when I'm trying to lift.

Empty Container of Stew at the Gym

Sweet Potatoes PWO

8 sad looking deviled eggs, carrots and cucumber (also PWO)

Coached from 6:00-8:00pm and then fit my training in after.  Landon is also doing competition training and he was scheduled for 8:00 so it was good having someone to do it with!

3 position clean @ 65 percent (105lbs) x 3

clean pulls @ 90 percent (140lbs) 3x2

clean grip deadlift @ 100 percent (160lbs) 4x2

behind the head rack jerks 1-1-1 @ 65, 90, 115 (fx4), 105 - these I suck royally at.  Shoulders felt achy and my low back is really tight.  Dallas said I was hyper extended and acting like I was afraid just to get under it and then, when I did, was refusing to lock out.  *sigh*  Why do I suck at these so badly?

Metcon 5-4-3-2-1 muscle ups with 50 unbroken DU's after each set.  Not for time.  I liked it!  The MU were all singles but felt good.  Weak part seems to be the dip at the end but they were better than when I did Nate or that 9-7-5 WOD of 135lb power cleans and MU.  This is likely due to being a bit lighter.  Still 4lbs off my weight class but I'm down 4lbs from a couple of weeks ago. 

Sleep: 11:15 p.m. to 7:50 but, again, had a hard time falling asleep.  I'd say 7.5 hours?  Maybe a bit more.

Out of soup. Next up... Italian Stew

It's not quite as good as the soup but it's still pretty yummy.

 Italian stew, it's what's for breakfast, lunch and moar lunch.

Massive Pot of Italian Stew

In a pot, saute:
1.5kg lean ground beef
1/4 cup coconut oil
one diced red onion.

Reduce heat. and add:
2 coloured bell peppers
6 diced zucchini
1 large container sliced mushrooms
3 cans diced tomatoes
2 cans tomato paste
1 jar sundried tomatoes, diced (packed in OLIVE oil)
6 cloves minced garlic
1/2 cup red wine
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp chili garlic paste
3 tbsp dried oregano
2 tbsp dried basil

Cover and allow to simmer on the stove until the veggies are soft and the flavours have mingled.  Adjust seasoning as needed (I like it quite flavourful with some heat). Makes a massive pot.  Really.  I have an oversized Lagostina dutch oven and it filled it to the brim.

And for supper (at 10:30 at night...) I had my last bowl of soup.  Mmmm...

Sleep: 11:00 p.m. until 7:40 but around 8 hours as I tossed and turned for a bit before being able to fall asleep.  I will adjust to an 11:00 bedtime, dammit!

REST DAY!  I feel really good.  Not stiff at all.  Good energy.  Hammie is a bit tight from yesterday's squats but no aching or any pain.  Going to do some mobility work tonight to loosen it up a bit.

I eat the same thing all day long for days on end.

Yes, I do.  Two reasons - I'm really lazy.  I don't like to have to cook everyday.  That and once I make something yummy that I enjoy, I want to enjoy it ad nauseam.  Well, at least until I'm really, really bored of the food.  Last week, it was slow cooked roast beef in red wine reduction with baby carrots.  Mmm, that was good.  Making that this weekend.  This week, it's the soup.  I am set to run out of it midway through tomorrow so Wednesday/Thursday, I'll move on to the next big pot of food.  But the soup will likely show up next week as well since I'm really enjoying the hell out of it. 

The soup... again.

PWO Meal of 6 eggs fried in coconut oil with salsa, a tomato with home made mayo and pepper and a bowl of mashed yams.  The tomato was so good I had a second one.

Today was day two of competition training.  LOVED IT.

Squat 3's @ 135, 2's @ 185, 1's @ 215, 225, 235, 245lbs
x2 @ 90% (220)
x3x3 @ 85% (210)
Good mornings 5's @ 75, 85, 95
50 25lb weighted sit ups
"Metcon" of 5-4-3-2-1 HSPU/35 unbroken double unders (used green and purple band for strict HSPUs, DUs unbroken and I did them while holding a convo with Steve V.  LOL!)

Sleep: 11:00 p.m. until 7:40 a.m. but I had a hard time falling asleep so likely closer to 8 hours than 8.5.

The never ending excitement continues

More photos of food.  This exciting train to Awesomeville just never stops!  Um, until it reaches Awesomeville.  Otherwise, it would just be an exciting train...

My containers of coconut chicken soup for breakfast, lunch and moar lunch.

PWO meal after getting back from Tunison's (more soup and yam mash)

While I was at Kelly's I also had a piece of roast beast and some baby carrots.  I didn't take a photo because that's just weird.

Training Stuff
We're starting competition training today.  So, so excited for this!  I love just getting my WODs handed to me and not thinking about it and just doing what I'm told and not second guessing if what I'm doing is going to prepare me or if I'm doing too much/not enough, etc.  This is the one exception to my "no one, not even myself, can tell me what to do" stubborn streak.   Hear that, Aaron?  You are the only person on earth I have ever listened to. Revel in that power, dude.

Here's what I did at Kelly's:

3 position snatch @ 73lbs
Snatch singles @ 83, 88, 93, 98 (fx3 – wasn’t finishing my pull so the bar was out in front)
Snatch pull @ 103 (good height on these - got one up to my chin)
Snatch deadlift @ 108
Snatch push press @ 68 (these felt like I was going to rip off my shoulder.. more mobility work to open up chest and get shoulders working is required because this is ridiculously light)

Helen on a treadmill, 55lb bell swings and DHPLU – 19:42 (bell swings were unbroken, runs felt good, pull ups felt like I was having an aneurism)

Sleep: 8 hours (11:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m.)

30 days of what paleo looks like... take two

In what could be the most boring collection of blog posts ever compiled, I'm trying this again.  I've seen a few questions about what "paleo" meals actually look like.  For the next 30 days, or until I get horribly bored, I'll post photos of what I eat. 

5 omega eggs fried in coconut oil, 1 tomato, half an avocado and some salsa

bowl of coconut chicken soup  (<--link to recipe... you know you want to click it!)

Another bowl of awesome (MOAR!!!!)

Jacob asked me tonight what kind of veggies I eat.  Today, I've eaten quite a few plants including tomato, red pepper, yellow pepper, broccoli, carrots, bean sprouts, water chestnuts, mushrooms, zucchini and cilantro. Plants=delicious.  Especially when they're floating in a zesty coconut milk broth.  I made a big ass pot of this stuff so tomorrow and the next day are going to be really boring to look at.  I'm going to enjoy the hell out of the soup, though.  It really is that good. 

Ps. Today=Rest Day
Slept 8.5 hours (1:00 a.m. until 9:30 a.m.)

This was either going to be really good or disgusting...

I was craving sushi the other day but was a) in mourning and b) wanting to avoid rice since it makes me cranky (really, it does...).  And rice now contains bitter, bitter memories.  Screw you, safe starch.  Anyways. combining mourning with cranky and then covering it with a sauce of bitter memories seemed like a bad idea.  So instead I tried to approximate what I like about sushi with no rice.  As I was making it, I thought to myself that this was either going to be the grossest thing ever concocted or kind of yummy.  It was yummy.

Take some mixed veggies (in this case red onion, peppers, carrots, mushrooms, bean sprouts and pea pods*) and saute them bitches all up in some coconut oil, rice wine vinegar** and sesame oil* and put it in a bowl.

Top with a whole lot of roasted chicken (really, any kind of fish or fowl will do) half an avocado, wasabi, pickled ginger and a dollop of home-made mayo (yes, I make my own and it's way yummier than store bought so worth the five minutes it takes to make it).  Mix it up and eat it.   

Ps.  I really miss Otis.

*Not really paleo (OMFG IT'S A LENTIL AND A SEED OIL!!!!!) but it's not going to make your tight junctions explode or cause you to die from omega 6 induced oxidative stress or anything if you eat either of these in moderation.  The sesame oil is just a touch for the flavour and pea pods are more veggie than anything else.

** I know it's made of rice.  My bitter memories and crankiness are only with ricey rice and not a liquid made of fermented rice juice. 

All of a sudden, I really didn't care about taking pictures of my food.

Otis, requiring a hair cut. He had to be knocked out at the vet's to be groomed.

On Thursday, my dog Otis blarked up all over the floor. His appetite had been off since starting him on a different food. That evening, after going to town on some (according to him) very delicious tripe we picked up to settle his stomach, he went down with some pretty spectacular GI upset. By Friday morning, he wasn't keeping down water and there were some blood spots in what he was bringing up. We rushed him to the vet to get the nausea under control and to get some fluids into him. He also got a shot of antibiotics. Bloodwork checked out. Vet said it was just a GI thing and to bring him back if he didn't start eating by Sunday. He seemed to be rallying and was able to keep down water. Yay! Saturday evening, he started to really worry me, though. His breathing was not good and he refused to eat. Sunday morning, there was specks of blood on his towel and on the floor. He was still drinking and keeping the water down so I was crossing my fingers that was a good sign. We, again, rushed him to the vet. This time, they admitted him. X-rays showed his lungs were filled with fluid. The vet said it could be pneumonia, blasto or something with his heart but, after talking through the options, we settled on pneumonia as most likely and started treating for that. That meant oxygen, and fluids and antibiotics by IV along with sedation and pain management. Eight hours later we got the call. He wasn't responding and was only getting worse. He'd brought up a lot of blood. His breathing was shallow. We didn't want him to die alone in the night. Our vet was great and it was peaceful. I got to hold him, tell him how awesome he was and give him a good ear rub as she administered the needle into his IV.

Otis when he was about eight. This was the last time we could convince a groomer to touch him. Seriously, look how cute he is! And sweet! And love-able. He was all of those things.Except when you attempted to groom him.

He was an older dog - almost 15 - but he'd been healthy. I couldn't understand how the hell this could happen. What had I missed? How didn't I know that something was going wrong? How could he be fine on Wednesday, barking like a goofball when Jill came to pick me up for work that morning, and dead from pneumonia by Sunday. Turns out it was very likely aspiration pneumonia, which can develop if you accidentally bring gastric fluid into the lungs when vomiting. It's serious and life-threatening. For Otis, it was catastrophic.

Otis with some of his most favourite people.

I miss my buddy so much already and it hasn't even really hit yet that he has died. He was an awesome dog. A complete and utter character. I'm dreading the day that it snows again and all of the tracks he made in the snow in the backyard last week are covered and there won't be any new ones. Because that's going to mean he's really gone.

Otis, on the best day of his life.  Of course it's the best day.  He's on a boat!  In the mountains!  With his family.

I heart various things...

But I will eat the same thing all day long, which really doesn't demonstrate variety.

This will be my breakfast, lunch, second lunch and supper tomorrow. 

I'm in training with muckety mucks tomorrow who, apparently, ARE NEVER SEEN EATING.  My boss has advised me to attempt some level of professional behaviour (hahahahahahahahaha) and I am to eat my many meat meals not in the training room because it freaks out the muckety mucks too much.  *sigh*

Edited to add:
It wasn't my supper.  Here's my supper - six fried eggs with salsa with two tomatoes done up in slices.  You can't see the tomatoes, though.  They're hiding under all that egg.  And my cholesterol is more than just fine, FYI.  This is post workout.  I'm now contemplating what kind of fruit something I'd like to eat with whipped cream.  Hmm...

 

I also take a couple of supplements every day.  If I bought all grass-fed meat and didn't enjoy the perpetual darkness of the frozen Canadian hinterland (horrible exaggeration... I'm no where near the actual far North), I probably wouldn't have to take anything. There's 4g of fish oil, some vitamin D and magnesium.

Edited to add: And it was strawberries for a GIANT BOWL OF WIN!

It was a really big roast.

It was a massive roast.  Still eating it!  This time, I'm having it with horseradish and garlic mashed cauliflower (tastes just like mashed potatoes, only better because there's a massive amount of butter in these babies).

Having this for three different meals.  Supper will be some kind of chili-like deal-eo, since I'll be out of roast at that point.

 

It's yummier than it looks. 

I squatted yesterday for the first time since July.  Kept it light with 3x5's at 185lbs.  And my ass isn't falling off today.  Yay!!  I think my ass injury may finally be healed!

Edited to add:

I did have the chili deal-eo and it was very tasty.  I also had a small banana with about a third of a cup of home-made whipped cream while I was cooking said chili after I got back from the gym.  I should have taken a photo because it was devine.  Less devine was a misshapen hard boiled egg that I scarfed in advance of my workout. 

I also haven't taken the before pictures I said that I would.  Tomorrow, I'll find the camera.  Besides, at this point I'm coated in bruises so, hell, why not?  I'm already back to my fourth belt hole from the third that I'd been using for the past few weeks.  And I PR'd on both The Bear @ 105lbs and my weighted DHPLU at 20lbs today. 

Nom, nom, nom

I'm feeling ready to tackle phase two of my plan to snort fire and shit rainbows, CrossFit-wise.  This season will not be last season.  At the end of this season, I'm going to know that I really, actually tried and gave it my full effort instead of spending a good chunk of it shitting the bed.

So, yeah, phase two.  Get back to a decent fighting weight.  I don't have many muscle ups in the tank right now and HSPUs are nothing but a daydream.   I've got this notion to post what my meals look like over the next little bit and then do a little before/after comparison to gauge how well I did with the cleaned-up nutrition.

Beef - it's what's for breakfast (and lunch, and second lunch and then supper)...

Slow cooked black angus baron of beef roast in a red wine reduction with zucchini and coloured bell peppers sauteed in white wine, garlic and butter.  Yes, my food contains two kinds of wine.  Delicious!

I'm also going to have sliced strawberries with home-made whipped cream when I get back from the gym tonight.  Edited to add the photo.  These were delicious.

Playing around with some ideas

Just ignore.  Easiest place to put this is on the blog.

Mondays
3x3 Tall Snatch
3x3 Hang Snatch
3x3 Snatch Pulls
3x5 OHS

Skill Work:
HSPUs
C2B PLUs
Ring Dips

Tuesday
SS
Metcon

Thursdays
3x3 Tall Clean
3x3 Hang Clean
3x3 Clean Pull
3x5 Push Press

Skill Work:
Muscle Ups
Toes to Bar
LSit

Friday
SS
Metcon

Saturday
Optional Metcon

Smokey Chili-Garlic Mayo (and soon to be) Grilled Pepper Aioli

After hitting the gym this morning, I decided to try my hand at making my own mayo.  I like things spicy and savoury so I played a bit with my first batch and came up with Smokey Chili-Garlic mayo.  It is really, really yummy and dead simple to make.  I just had some on a beef brat for lunch and, yeah, so good.  I also grilled up a nice looking red pepper that's going to get blended into one of the jars just as soon as it cools.

Smokey Chili-Garlic Mayo

In a food processor, blend the following until thickened.  I emptied the dishwasher while I did this.

2 eggs
1tsp mustard powder
1/2 tsp smoked praprika
2 cloves garlic
the juice of half a lemon

Then, while continuing to blend, slowly add:
1 cup olive oil
1 cup walnut oil
1 tbsp chili garlic paste

Put into a glass jar and allow to sit in the fridge for a few hours to thicken.  To make the aioli, return to the food processor and blend in one cool, grilled red pepper.  *sigh*

Ps.  Kind of enjoying that I'm posting a recipe for mayo on what initially was a weight loss blog.

Three and Six Month Goals

Three month goals:
 - Squat 250lbs for reps (preferably 3x5's but I'll take what I can get)
 - Rx 30 MU for time
 - Sub six minute Isabel

Six month goals:
 - Rx Linda
 - Strict HSPUs
 - Rx Amanda to Games Standard (jumping up to rings)

Oh, and to be half as awesome as this chicka...

 (Angie Pye)

She's also in her mid thirties and just destroyed it at Canada West Regionals.  Being two thirds as awesome as Nancy M or Jennifer D would be cool, too.  They are also around my age.

I've got a few check points that I'm working towards.  I've signed up for the Spartan Race in Calgary as part of Team Meathead.  I'm also going to do the Prairie CrossFit Challenge in September, SK Powerlifting Provincials (REALLY want to qualify for Nationals again) in November and then FrostFit in January, if Winnipeg hosts it again.

The three things that pried me off the couch...

There were three things that finally pried me off the couch.  The first was Amberly during our "Phat Club" days (oh my...) who pointed something out to me after dropping my first 20 or so pounds while eating low fat whole wheat muffins and yogurt (it's the official food of women... watch the video, I'll wait)



Back to Amberly, she asked me how much weight I could have lost if I'd actually, you know, got off the couch. So I did. With Fit to Strip. Yeah....

The next was Kat Carney, who runs the SoulCysters site posting a link to a few research papers on the benefit of resistance exercise on improving insulin resistance in women with PCOS (the couch/pizza ordering existence did me no favours - my body was like a car on blocks parked in someone's front lawn...). That got me dusting off my old copy of Bill Phillips' Body for Life book and doing bicep curls and leg extensions in my half storey.

The third, and most profound, was Mistress Krista's posts about the shaky man in the gym on her Stumptuous website. Neil has Parkinson's and has been doing intense physical exercise and heavy weight training since sometime in 2005. He's caught the interest of Parkinson's researchers with the positive outcomes he's experienced. Parkinson's and Dystonia have a lot in common. Same area of the brain, same neurotransmitter and a lot of the drugs developed for Parkinson's are used to treat people with Dystonias. The drug I had been on, trihexphenidyl, was an anti-Parkinson's agent. Reading his email exchanges (here, here and here) got me wondering if there was a better way to exercise and wondering if intense physical activity could also help me with my Dystonia. Sure enough, it did! His emails also made me realize that doing supersets with a 12lb dumbbell was maybe selling myself short a little.

Krista just posted another update about Neil. According to her post, he's featured in a video created for Professor Bastiaan (Bas) Bloem, who is a world-leading neurologist in the field of movement disorders. Oh, the link to the professor includes a great TED presentation and a really fun presentation of a guy with Parkinson's who can barely walk but can ride his bike just fine... yay for the adaptive power of grey matter!  Hmm, this could be why I can clean 135lbs for 2 reps when I'm so symptomatic I can barely stand and putting my own plates on the bar is impossible (thanks for loading my bar, Ang!).

Check it out! Dude's achieved a level of fitness that most people never will. And did I mention he's in his 60's? Yeah, pretty cool.



I know I've been yammering on about Dystonia a lot lately. But I think it's important to try and get the word out there that there ARE people out there with neurological disorders who are seeing benefits from intense physical activity. I know what it's done for me and I also know that, being without a neuro right now, no one in the medical community even knows it. I think it's worth studying and I'm so pleased that Neil's experiences are getting some attention.

I thanked Neil a few months ago for getting me off the couch. I don't know. Maybe someone with a movement disorder will stumble across my blog some day and this will encourage them to give their local CrossFit gym a call.

The clarity that comes after 5 gin and tonics...

The alternate title for this post was "So not the way I wanted to raise awareness that it's the start of Dystonia Awareness Week". Heh!

After I crawled into bed last night, post Spring Fling and 5 gin and tonics, I had a moment. Earlier that night Taryn had asked me if I was going to try and figure out where I would have placed if I hadn't had a bad day with my movement disorder and it hadn't meant taking a huge hit on the first WOD. I came in dead last on that one and even though I crawled my way up on the rest of them with a second and two firsts, it wasn't enough to make up for it. I told her I didn't' want to because it would just bum me out even more.

And yeah, I'll admit it. I was bummed out. And my ego was smarting. I'm probably a bit too competitive for my own good. I don't like it when I don't do well and I REALLY don't like it when it's because of my dystonia.

Enter the gin.

My dystonia is a part of me. It's part of who I am as an athlete. I bring it with me to every competition just like I do all of my other skills, abilities, strengths and weaknesses. I did how I did based on what I bring to the table - the whole package. Figuring out where I would have placed if I had been symptom free that day would be like figuring out how I would have placed if I was a different person altogether.

Today, I sat down and sketched out my training from now until sectionals start up again next year. I took a look at my weaknesses and where I want to go and what I want to accomplish. One of those things is showing a little more grace when it comes to being a disabled athlete.

Best kind of training day.

Gorgeous Sunday morning, friends and a big ass muddy hill...

It's you verses you

CrossFit Subzero's FunBobby posted this up on Facebook.



It's you verses you in CrossFit. I've always been really talented at tripping myself up. I think that's one of the reasons why I love CrossFit so much. After every workout, you can see very clearly if you gave it your full effort or if you're doing something that is holding you back. It keeps you honest with yourself. I've been half-assing my life too much recently. Last year at Regionals, OPT said "full effort is full victory" during his opening speech. After the open sectionals, I want to look back and know that I gave it my full effort. And it's not just about CrossFit. When I'm 100 percent committed to doing my best in competition, everything else in life kind of just lines up, too. It's like you can't go all in without it spilling over into everything else.

Having a chance to compete on CFR's affiliate team at the Games last year was an amazing experience. I want to help us earn the chance to go again.

New levels of full body destruction

Thank you, FunBobby!  Yesterday's Intergalactic Throwdown c/o CrossFit SubZero was a seriously fun competition with great, well-planned workouts.  I don't think I've ever hurt this much the day after, though.  I mean, I thought I was busted up after 7 minutes of thrusters at Sectionals but now I realize that was only a small fraction of the ouch I have going on today.  Everything hurts.  EVERYTHING!

First off, I just wanted to say it was fantastic seeing people who've never done a competition before come out and throw themselves into a three-a-day!  These WODs were some of the hardest I've ever seen programmed into a competition.  I mean, we really could have stopped at SuperBeast, given ourselves a pat on the back for taking on something that nuts, and gone home feeling damned proud for just showing up.  But then we came back to the gym for more.  And then a little more after that!  Kick ass!  There were some amazing displays of awesomeness yesterday and I am very proud of our CrossFit Regina crew.

As I mentioned, the first WOD was aptly named SuperBeast:

3 rounds of
30 double unders
20 chest-to bar pull-ups
10 chest-to-deck burpees
Then
10 deadlifts 315/205lbs (dropping bar after lockout is permitted)
10 clean and jerks 185/125lbs
for time, with 17 minute time cap

It felt like I was on the pull up bar pretty much the entire time.  C2B PLUs are still a goat for me and so I was pretty pleased that I only had two failed reps in the last round.  The burpees were easy as were the double unders.  The deads felt really heavy by the time I got to them and I couldn't string any of them together, which I had expected to do.  I've been off heavy deads and squats for a month to get the hammie healed up for sectionals so perhaps that's why they felt challenging?  The part I was nervous about was the jerk.  Originally when I read the WOD, I just read power cleans and thought SCORE!  I love power cleans and 125 is a nice weight.  The night before, I realized there were jerks.  D'oh!  My 1RM is about that weight and I've only gotten it once and it was ugly.  I got about 4 or 5 cleans but only one exceedingly ugly jerk. I honestly thought my ribs were going to pop out.  Definitely something I'll be working on between now and Sectionals (yay for Jamie and his offer of training on Saturdays!).  Afterwards, Paul came over and laughed at me saying that he thought my jerk was mostly fixed.  Only at a lighter weight, aparently!  My score was 3 rnds +11.

At 2:00pm we reconvened at the gym for Captain Intensity and Franklin.  They were as follows:

“CAPTAIN INTENSITY”
Combined score of these two events completed in 10 minutes:
4 minutes of rowing for total meters
1 rep max front squat
Notes: athlete has 5 minutes to post best weight lifted taken from rack loaded by the athlete
total score is reached by adding meters and pounds lifted
10 minute time period includes 1 minute transition from rower to squat rack and for
volunteer to clear plates off bar from previous athlete


“FRANKLIN”
Max reps in 7 minutes of
Handstand Push-ups
and/or Back Squats 135/95lbs
Notes: squat bar will be taken from the floor and the athlete has a choice of the two movements and you can split reps however you like, scoring is 1 point for a back squat 2 points for HSPU

I pushed pretty hard on the rower.  My strokes were hella inefficient but I was trying to save my legs for the squat madness afterwards and instead aimed for a strong pull with the arms and back.  I got 1035m, which I was cool with considering I'm of hobbit stock (hairy feet and short stature doesn't make for good rowing) and then went to go attempt a decent front squat.  Yep...  I way overestimated what I could do.  Tried for 175lbs and failed.  Then I just did 115 to get on the board (um, good thing, too) and then loaded the bar to 165 and failed again.  WTF!  I thought I was supposed to be good at squats.  At this point, I had little time left on the clock.  I tried loading the bar to 155 but the timer beeped before I could even get the plates on the bar.  My score was 1150.  Lesson learned.  Don't get greedy.  Start at a lower weight and built up, not scale back and get frustrated.  LOL!

The last workout was seven minutes of squats.  I can't do HSPUs strict, kipping or after sucking on a helium balloon.  So, the plan was to just squat.  And then squat some more.  And then keep on squatting after that.  Kat was awesome and came over to shout at me to keep moving.  I dropped the bar twice, once at the 5 minute mark and again at the 6 minute mark.  The quads were burning but it was the weight on my back that was getting to me.  I did 104 and that was my score.  I wouldn't have got the last four or so if it hadn't been for the cheering because all I wanted to do was never squat again.

After, Ang asked if I wanted to do one of the tests she needs to do for work.  Since it didn't involve squats, I was game!  We had to do max DHPLUs, rest one minute, max PU, rest one minute, max SU, rest one minute and then max ring dips.  She told me what the minimum numbers were (5, 30, 40 and 10 respectively) so I went for that and got it.  Good times!

Two days later, I still can't walk without looking like an old man who's crapped his pants. 

The photos are c/o CrossFit Regina and were posted to Facebook.

Coconut Chicken Soup

I've been making a massive pot of this every week for the last two months. I've yet to get tired of eating it. I don't have a pretty picture to add. Use your imagination and just picture a bowl filled with awesome. Oh yeah... Not only is this stuff delicious, the fat found in coconuts is pretty darn fantastic for you, too.

This makes a lot.  Like, I have an oversized pot that I do this in and it's pretty much full to the brim. 

1.3 kg diced boneless, skinless chicken thighs
0.6kg diced chicken breasts
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp each of dried coriander, star anise seed
1/4 cup chili garlic paste
a bag of slivered carrots (2 cups)

Roughly cube your chicken. Melt the coconut oil in a large frying pan. Add the sesame oil, chicken and spices. Allow to brown. Midway through, add your slivered carrots. Once the chicken is cooked, set the pan aside.

In a large pot, combine:
3 cans coconut milk (at Walmart, they have coconut milk that's just coconut and water - Arroy D Brand)
1 head of broccoli, chopped
2 cubed zucchinis
3 cans water chestnuts
2 chopped red pepper
1 container (2 cups) sliced mushrooms
3 cups or so of bean sprouts
3 tbsp fish sauce
chili garlic paste (however much, depending on if you want more heat)
2 tbsp sesame oil
3 cups vegetable broth (I use Kitchen Basics from Sobey's that's just veggies so its everything-free)

Cover, bring to a boil, drop heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add in your chicken mixture and allow to simmer for another 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat.

Add:
The juice of two limes
Chopped fresh cilantro.

Makes 12 servings

Maybe I'm a jerk?

Okay, maybe this makes me a jerk?



Today on Facebook, CrossFit.com posted a video of a guy named Tod doing some burpees. Go Tod! First, can I just say I think it's awesome Tod is doing burpees. Frankly, I think it's awesome when anyone does burpees.

The post goes on to claim this video is "the most motivational 8 seconds of your day". Hey, I get you. Burpees can kind of suck and it is motivational watching someone duke their way through a set. However, it wasn't the burpees, per say, that were considered most motivational but more so the fact that the person who was doing burpees had legs that ended somewhere around the knee cap.

Why do we make the assumption that physical fitness is the sole-purview of the able-bodied?

In the comments, many people posted how inspiring and amazing it was that Tod would engage in physical activity because he's got a physical disability. While I think it's lovely that people felt inspired by him, it also demonstrates that most people have made assumptions about physical disability that maybe it's time to let go of. Is it really so completely and totally amazeballs for a person with a disability to workout? I don't think so.

While our bodies might work in a different way, the vast majority of people with physical disabilities certainly can (and do!) work out. It's not like our responsibility to care for our physical selves magically absolves the moment we take on the additional adjective "disabled"? And how do you know that we don't make the same damn excuses as the rest of you for occasionally skipping going to the gym or not eating healthfully or whatever? And who's to say that the barriers some able-bodied people face with getting fit aren't as or even more challenging than whatever accommodations may be required for the physical disability.

You know what would be really awesome? I'd like it to just seem completely and totally normal for everyone and anyone to be physically active - old, young, skinny, heavy, light, tall, short, disabled or able-bodied.