Empty Zoo...Lame sauce.

What a FUN week!  It was a short work week this week, which was super nice!

Wednesday - my first day off, I went to the beach with Trish and her 2 monkeys for most of the day! We totally didn't think we were going to get to go cause it was a super cloudy and rainy in the morning but by noon it was beautiful!  The unfortunate part was that we should've faced the sun directly because the whole right side of my body got burnt and not my left, I have a very uneven tan!  But its rather funny non-the-less.  I will even it out Today (Sunday) when we go to the beach again with a bunch of Trish's friends!  Pictures to follow :)

Thursday - Buck, Kelsey's Blue Healer was dropped off at our house Wednesday night and it was a very interesting first night.  About 3 mins after they had left, Buck peed on the kitchen floor and then our fridge! I let him outside and he took 2 poops (yes you wanted to know this), he must have been very nervous but after that he was completely fine with terrorizing sky!

I watched the movie 'Snow White and the Huntsman', Thursday morning.  I believe Trish said it best..."The best part about that movie, is the Huntsman."  The movie itself was very slow moving I thought, however I did love Charlize Theron in it she killed her part as the nasty witch.  Otherwise, the movie wasn't anything to really write home about.  Classic snow white story with a hottie huntsman in it...The End!

Yummy.

I also,went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond...love that store!  My lovely mother had sent us a wedding gift card to there so I figured why not spend it!  I bought some K-cups, ice trays, straws, and 2 nice water bottles for Justin and I.  Add to that a nice picture for our wall!  Mom said I had to get something that I could tell people, "My mom got me that!"  :)  SO, I did!  I love paintings or pictures, basically art in general...along with inspiring words and I think the one I picked out fits us perfectly.

I took the dogs for a walk, what a difference it is walking with a 35lb dog on one arm and a 12lb dog on the other!  Basically, they were walking me for the first half of the walk and once they calmed down I was walking them ha but for the most part Sky did fairly well!  Each dog is different, Buck gets excited over squirrels and Sky gets excited over people so I just have to be careful that a squirrel doesn't run by with me unaware otherwise I will be being dragged behind a 35lb dog!

My Mobility class has been quite popular not going to lie!  Out of the 8 slots I have to fill, there has been at least 3-5 people!  And Lucien doesn't make money unless there is 3 people so BOOM, I am making him some dough.  

Friday -  ZOO day!  I had told Trish that I hadn't been to the zoo yet and would really like to go.  We planned on going after Riley's field trip at her school.  We made our way down to Waikiki and ate lunch at Lulu's right by the Zoo!  I ate fairly well, I had their Lava Burger with out the bun and a salad.  The Burger had Pepperjack cheese and jalapenos on it and with the Salad I had balsamic vinaigrette.  Fairly Paleo besides the cheese which I have decided I want in my way of eating as long as it is in moderation.  What was not Paleo, was eating a few of the Kid's fries...oops!  (Whatever who cares ha, we walked enough at the Zoo to burn it off)  

On to the Zoo we went!  It was a pretty decent Zoo, not the best I have ever been too.  For some reason, most of the animals were missing!  Each enclosure we would visit it would either say "Sorry the [insert animal here] is temporarily gone but will return soon."  OR at some of them...it would just be empty, quite the disappointment!  Least we were able to make jokes at how empty the zoo was.

Horrible pic of me..I look High ha

Zoo knocked em out!

Trish and I went to CrossFit....6 days this week!  We ARE ADDICTS...the first step is admitting...the second step is doing nothing about it!  My hands have been healing up this week and I really didn't want to hurt them anymore, therefore, anything that involved pullups I did pushups instead (YUCK! I hate pushups).  Friday was the '300' WOD, which I did not like!  It was an arm killer.  

I did the 1st 25 pullups with a Purple band and the 2nd with a Green band. Deadlifts at 95lbs along with Floor Wipers. Clean and Press at 8kg.  Completed in 22:30.

Last thing I promise!  We started House Season 8 on Friday night...oh man did I miss Hugh Laurie!  I can't believe its the last season ugh but so excited to see what it has to offer!

He's SO the HOTT DAD type :)

Sweet Tea, Sims, & Revenge

Friday Night after we performed surgery on my hands...aka...petroleum jelly, gauze, and tape, we hung out at home.  Warmed up some Paleo Chili, I had a glass of Barefoot Sweet Red it pairs well with beef.  I am not really a wine person but have been craving it more often, I like the red wines.  I am a nerd and love the wine at church, I do not know why but I'd drink that stuff at home! HA :-P  We then tried Seagrams Sweet Tea Vodka which a lady recommended at Target mixed with lemonade.  Now, this stuff is dangerous because it does not taste like alcohol it literally only tastes like Sweet Tea.  However, it was a nice change from Jack Diet Cokes.

We watched the tv show PRANKED on MTV and discussed how we should prank each other and get it on video!!!  I really want to do this to Justin, but I need to come up with some good pranks.  Ideas are welcome, post some comments of pranks for me to do to Justin!

I told him thou, if he does prank me he needs to video it because whats the fun in only him knowing how he got me.  We might as well share with the world or at least our friends!

I also downloaded SIMs FreePlay on the iPad, can you say Nerd uhh yup!  But I forgot how much fun it is, I used to love the game back when it was on P.C. and this just brings back that pre-teen fun!  You can even play it on your iPhone and sync it with your iPad which I will have to do when I get the new iPhone5 coming soon!

Saturday, I coached Mobility again same routine as Thursday.  I am thinking I want to incorporate a day where we literally just foam roll hardcore and do some static stretching which is good for the body also.  I don't want it to get boring and be the same MobWOD every week. Afterwards, Trish convinced me (She really had to pull my leg hard...not) to work out with her.  Justin came too and we convinced Josh to stay and also endure in the pain!  It was a good day for accomplishments:  Josh did parallete Hand Stand Pushups (BEAST MODE), Justin did strict HSPUs and also figured out how to kip them, and Trish got 2 handstands!!  It was a great day for being upside down I guess lol.  I on the other hand was limited by my hands, you really realize how much you use them after you hurt them ugh.  The WOD of the day was 21-15-9 Cleans with 42-30,18 Pushups, Justin, Trish, and I all scaled our cleans to 20lb MedBall Cleans.  Josh did it at Rx.  We all did fairly well, completing in under 15 mins.  It was a nice workout because it wasn't too brutal but it got the blood flowing and sweat dripping!

In the afternoon was Kelsey's bridal shower, 1950's themed.  I did not have anything to wear so I just wore a sun dress, it worked out fine and I didn't spend any extra money (such a tight ass).  It was a very nice party, we played a few fun games and got to decorate our own mini cakes!  The even better part was that the girl hosting the party has been doing Paleo for 3 years now and everything she made was Paleo!  It was all very delicious:  bacon wrapped scallops, hardboiled eggs filled with avocado, bora bora spicy pork balls, cream cheese filled dates, olives with something not sure what, and apple crumble!  I had just eaten lunch so I didn't have too many snacks, but I ate my entire mini paleo cake that we got to decorate...it was SO good!  I love cake :)  I will definitely be getting some of those recipes from her!

I started a new show called Revenge, recommended to me by Trish.  At first, I didn't think I liked it but now I AM HOOKED!  It keeps getting better every episode.  The entire first season is on Netflix, so go go go little birdies and watch it! Second season starts up soon, my DVR will be set to record :P

Death by Pullups

What a great past 4 days I've had!!!  Besides my UBER ripped up hands which I will explain later...

Thursday was SUPER fun!  Slept for about 12 hours, woke up feeling fabulous.  Then Trish and I drove over to KoKoHead in Hawaii Kai and did the Hike!  There are about 1,100 steps I read somewhere up this mountain...  They call it "Nature's stairmaster" which is so true.  Our legs were BURNING and we were especially tired still from doing the Filthy 50 on Tuesday but we made it up there like champs!  Even beat Trish's previous time of 27 mins by 5 mins...we completed it in 22 mins, I'd say not too shabby.  But there are some crazy people that actually run up and down KoKoHead like its a cake walk...yeah...not for me!  I was drenched in my own sweat after just the once up it!  

After that I coached Mobility and did the WOD...which was 20 min AMRAP of 6 strict Shoulder Press @ 70% 1RM and row 500ms.  I did 5 rounds + 6 Presses and 263m beating Staci by 1m ha!  But she also did 70lbs where as I did 65lbs.  Strict Shoulder Press always kicks my ass...or any shoulders for that matter, I wish they were stronger.  That will come with time! Tough WOD thou after doing kokohead, my hipflexors were burnt out oofta.  

We watched 'Cabin in the Woods' Thursday night and this is one movie I DO NOT recommend, it was STUPID!  I still don't fully understand what they were trying to accomplish by that movie and the whole concept is ridiculous.  Basically, its not scary, the acting is horrible, and storyline doesn't mount up to anything.  There are a few funny parts that is about it.

Friday morning, I got up and cooked Justin breakfast.  I wanted to try these Caramel Apple Pancakes I saw on PaleOMG.  They were kind of a fail...I don't know if they were a fail on my part or that's just how the recipe is supposed to be.  But the pancake batter was SO dense, I tried adding water to make it a bit more runny like pancake batter but that did not help it just soaked up the water like a sponge...  I didn't think they tasted bad but they weren't great.  Justin said it best, "You can definitely tell these are paleo..." lol.  The best part of it was the cinnamon apples and the caramel sauce you make with it.  I could eat that stuff all day nom nom, so may be incorporating that into a different recipe would be good!  I still have some batter left over so I'm going to try using it maybe like a sandwich type deal.

The sausage looks like a penis. 

Now, the recipe that REALLY turned out GOOD was the Banana Chocolate Muffins from FastPaleo.  These were delicious, I did add Non-Paleo chocolate ha.  I had Hershey bars left over from smores and just chopped them up into pieces and threw that in the batter.  You can't go wrong with some chocolate every now and again!  Plus, it wasn't that much.  I brought these to crossfit and everyone said they were yummy...even Justin liked and like I said he's my toughest critic ugh.

OH and how could I forget, I made my own Paleo Hummus!  This was exquisite!  I was recommended to try hummus from some co-workers, which I have never had before and I was looking at the ingredients and of course regular hummus is made from chickpeas.  So therefore, I decided to google Paleo Hummus and found this amazingness recipe.  Paleo Friendly Hummus  The only thing I had to substitute was that I had maybe a 1/4 cup Mac Nuts so I filled the rest of the 1/2 cup with cashews.  I will try to get some more Mac Nuts to do the actual recipe but doing the half and half of the two, it is still really good.  I put it on my celery sticks I need to eat up and I've never eaten so many celery sticks due to this stuff! 

SOOOO ABOUT DEATH BY PULLUPS...Friday night's WOD was 9 hang snatches paired with 15 pullups...4 rounds for time...  Two movements that should never be paired together because they are two of the top movements that cause Hand Rips...  I wanted to do all my pullups Kipping because I am trying to practice that and link them.  I used lots of chalk an still ripped horribly bad.  My problem I think is the jumping onto the bar, which I need to use a step up instead for and then I grip too hard during the motion.  I need to learn the hand release to lessen my grip.  And for snatches using the hook-grip the bar was rotating hard core in the middle of my hand.  I was on the last round of 15 pullups and I seriously did not think I was going to make it, I was almost literally in tears trying to finish it out.  Lucien had get me a step ladder and purple pads for my hands but I did it.  The time cap was 20 mins and I completed it in 20:38, hand rips, tears, and all.  FML  

Not for the faint of heart.

Needless to say, Justin is investing in some gloves for us because my hands do not want to HARDEN THE F**K UP grr :-/

Improvements, Realizations, and Goals.

I have noticed A LOT of improvements lately in CrossFit, my body, and my outlook on things.

CrossFit Improvements:
1.    I finally understand how to Kip properly during Pullups and Toes to Bar.  Knees to Elbows not so much for some reason.  I have a perfect kip forward but it was the coming back I wasn't getting.  I now realize I have to basically 'pull the bar' down to my bell button when I reach the back position or else I will be exerting too much energy and lose my efficiency when I actually kip up.  Also, CORE CORE CORE.  You must keep your abs tight, body in hollow position, and feet close together does help.  When doing the motion, I try to imagine myself as a gymnast sounds lame but it really helps to get in that mindset when doing gymnastic movements!

2.    Secondly, Carl Paoli from http://gymnasticswod.com/  is a genius.  He stresses the importance of a tight core in all your movements once again and how important it is to keep a neutral neck and spine. Basically, this is stating avoid the 'Chicken Necking' syndrome...I myself am guilty of this also.  You 'chicken neck' when you want to get your chin over the bar in that pullup, or you think it will help you pull more weight up when deadlifting...both of these are false.  Keeping your neck inline with your body helps to maintain...homeostasis (for lack of a better word) but it really does.  I've been testing this theory and it does work.  It makes Pullups harder but you use less energy and it activates the proper muscles during the movement.  The skill can also be transferred to pushups, burpees, backsquats, deadlifts and many more.  Working on my deadlift...I used to look up when lifting, however this was inefficient, a buddy Rob showed me that if I keep my neck neutral and inline with my spine the lift would be more efficient and it was!  I was able to complete more reps with less fatigue and better form.  Give this a shot!

3.    I have made Kipping Handstand Pushups my BITCH!  I did about 7 yesterday, not in a row but doing 1 then getting off the wall and resetting and doing another.  Soon I should be able to link a few!

CrossFit Goals to come:
1.    Improve on Strict Pullups and Dips.
2.    More linked Kipping Pullups
3.    A Muscle-Up...need to get the above first to be able to get this guy.
4.    Strict Handstand Pushup and an Rx one either kipping or strict.  This would be 2 25# plates on each side of the ab-mat.  Which I probably can do, I'll give it a shot on Thursday :)
5.     Make improvements on my 1RMs.

Body Improvements:
1.     I've noticed that after completing the Whole30, I've actually seen more progress.  During the 30 days I didn't really see the results I wanted but you need to keep in mind it was only 30 days...it takes the body a lot longer to actually make true change.  I've been feeling stronger and I can see some Abs coming in!  And not like the 'Holocaust Child' ones I had when I was prepping for my show, but true STRONG Abs.  Plus, my arms are looking more cut and a bit bigger :)  Legs are legs ha I know they are strong but I don't see too much change in them personally.


2.     Also, eating wise I can tell what my body likes and doesn't like...well sort of.  I notice that after I eat something that I don't normally have, for example: Thai Food Saturday, Alcohol and Pop, and the meal we had at The Shack...I tend to get Acid Reflux or as the internet calls it Gastroesophageal reflux disease.  I get this feeling that food is lodged and I can't swallow it down pretty much the whole next day after having something 'not normal' to my body.  It pretty much SUCKS!  I then have to take at least 4 tums to get the feeling to subside some.  So in some respects its almost not worth eating the food if I am gonna have that feeling blah...

3.    A few things I've been incorporating back in to my diet in small quantities are Peanut Butter, Ketchup, and Protein Shakes.  I have to use up these things in my shelves before I make my own Paleo Almond Butter and Ketchup...but Protein powder well that is one thing I probably will not give up.  Also, I have been adding some dairy such as string cheese because I have one of those GIANT bags of it from Costco so I must eat it ha.  And some milk occasionally if I have a bit if NON-PALEO cereal :P.

Lastly, my realizations are that I AM HAPPY!  I love my life.  I have an Amazing Husband.  The Best Family.  The Best Friends.  An annoying yet loveable Dog, Sky.  A new found passion for CrossFit, Paleo, and cooking.  I have a good paying job.  I am making new friends here in Hawaii.  I live where it is perpetually Summer.  And who would've ever thought I'd like to Blog.  I hate the saying but YOLO, you truly only live once and why not live life to the fullest!

Carl is HOT!

Vampire Diaries Season 3 on Netflix!!!

On Sunday morning when I came into work it was slow...so I was searching through Netflix for something to watch and low and behold the most recent season of Vampire Diaries had been uploaded!!!  SO EXCITED!  I've been watching it non-stop at work, have about 11 episodes down and 10 to go...I just may finish it this week at work.  Then the new season starts up Oct. 11th, going to have to set the DVR to record that one!  This is the one thing I love about my job when it is slow and there is nothing to do, I can catch up on my TV shows as long as their on Netflix.  I can also browse a bunch of youtube videos and do all the crossfit research I want! Lucky me to be getting paid to watch TV basically, I can't really complain except for the hours suck Midnight to Noon, but on the upside I get a 3-4 day weekend every week :)

I NEED to find someone with Sons of Anarchy Season 4 ugh, but no one seems to want to borrow it to me ha.

I have quite a few TV shows I've started and NEED to finish.  Including SOA above, Breaking Bad Season 4, Grey's Anatomy (I am on season 6), House (the final Season 8), and my new friend Trish has recommended Revenge.  I looked it up, and noticed it has the girl from Everwood if anyone ever watched that show.  I believe her name is Emily Van Camp, I really liked her so I may just have to start that show too as well.  But along with my long list of TV series to watch, I have started many books ugh!  I should read the 2nd Hunger Games book and I also started the Steve Jobs book which I REALLY need to finish.  Along, with everyone telling me to read the 50 Shades of Grey series.  I need to set some goals on getting these accomplished I think!  But besides my love for TV shows, Movies, and Books of all kinds...I love cooking as you know.  This week there are a few recipes I believe I am going to make:

1.  Paleo Mayo! I want to try making Paleo Ketchup and my own Almond butter however, I am not one to put anything to waste so I want to finish my bottle of Organic Ketchup and JIF natural Peanut Butter before I buy the ingredients to make those.  The recipe I will be using, was recommended my a friend from CrossFit who states its amazing!  It can be found here:  Homemade Paleo Mayo

2.  Crockpot Breakfast!  I am trying to get Justin to like eggs, he has a thing about their texture and I think this recipe could possibly cure that as long as they eggs are cooked through and do not give off that rubbery texture eggs normally have.  Its worth a shot, if he doesn't like it well I guess I'll just be eating it hehe!  OMG Crockpot Breakfast Pie

3.  The Crockpot Chili from last week.  We loved it so much and I have enough ingredients to make it again so HELL why not! It's very delicious.

4.  Caramel Apple Pancakes!  I must be on a breakfast kick but these looked fabulous and more like dessert to me then anything.  Plus, I have dates that needed to get used up before they go bad.  I hope to try to make this for Justin Friday morning.  OMG Pancakes

I will let you know how the recipes turn out and post some reviews and maybe tips on cooking each.  Stay tuned.

Weekend Warrior

I forgot to state in my last post that another funny/romantic comedy movie I love is, 'Friends with Benefits'.  

Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis are great in this film.  They are both really funny and all of the banter between them is just perfect.  I've seen this movie multiple times but it still makes me belly laugh every time I watch it.  

Saturday morning,  I was scheduled to coach Mobility at 9:30 but noone signed up.  So Justin, Rob, and I just went through my class together and stretched out our lower back, hips/hipflexors, and ankles.  I am thinking I will probably repeat this class on Thursday for those that couldn't make it to Saturday.  You can always use hip flexor stretches because those muscles tend to get very tight in all of the movements we do in CrossFit.  Plus, almost EVERY movement we do in CrossFit involves the thrust of your Hips.  After mobility, my new found girl-friend Trish was all alone for the 10:30 WOD and we couldn't just let her go by herself that is NO FUN!  I am not going to lie however, I really wanted to do the workout anyways and helping a friend out was an added bonus :).  I found my 1RM in bench press which was 105lbs I think I can do more than that, I was watching a CrossFit.com video on youtube that said you should drive the weight up with your heels pressed firmly into the ground.  Basically, you should be ripping the floor apart with your feet engaging your core muscles, keeping your butt tight, and driving the weight up with your chest.  I want to give this a try next time and see if I can move more weight.  

The WOD was 7 Full Squat Snatches @ 60% of 1RM, 40 Double Unders, and 13 Box Jumps.  My Full Squat Snatch is only 75lbs...the movement is very technical the weight will increase as I get better at the technique.  Which I will be practicing...been watching Coach Burgener A LOT!  And we are going to purchase some PVCs to work with at home.  So for the WOD I did my snatches at 55lbs, I aimed for perfect technique on each rep.  I did 5 rounds plus 7 snatches and 20 Double Unders.  During the workout, Staci gave me a few tips to remember to not Pull to early because then I am muscling up the weight but to PULL right when I hit that 'pocket' aka a little bit above your knees and POP the hips...boom fall under the bar quickly.  I need to work on this more, once I started to do it that way it was much easier and more fluid.

I am including this video below because it is a great Instructional Slow motion version of the Snatch.

The rest of the day we stayed at the gym and helped out with Gym Maintenance day, it was fun we got to drink a bit and play with power tools....that can' t be safe lol.  It also gives Justin and I time to be together and we work well on projects, were a great team!  Just takes communication and we really have gotten much better at that.  Afterwards, we went out to Thai Village with Jed and Kelsey.  I had never had Thai food before, they couldn't believe this...but I am almost certain I never have.  Its kinda like Chinese food thou!  I had the Stir-Fried Broccoli and mixed seafood it was very good, I also had a few bites of Justin's rice.  I have been sticking to Paleo like I said 80/20, when we go out to eat I try to pick paleo options and if anything I just have a few bites of Justin's food like french fries and what not.  For example, yesterday for the Sunday Night Football game we went to The Shack in Kailua with Justin's co-worker and his wife.  I ordered the Jalapeno Chicken sandwich without the bun and a side salad instead of fries.  The sandwich came with Pepper Jack cheese which is fine because I have been including more cheese in my Paleo and the Salad came with croutons.  Also, I asked for a better option dressing but its a sports bar so of course they don't really have any healthy options!  They didn't even have salsa, which I thought was super odd!  Therefore, I got some ranch...at least I tried to get a better option.  So this whole meal was, I would say "mostly" Paleo and keyword is mostly.  I did allow myself to have a few bites of Justin's fries cause I am a sucker for potatoes!  But see its really not that hard to pick healthy options at restaurants you just have to ask, yeah they may look at you a little funny but who cares...your the one paying for it right!? ;)

I was DOG tired yesterday, didn't get much sleep before work and at work.  Then to just stay awake after work was quite difficult.  I have noticed that I need at least 4.5 hours of sleep before work.  I am going to try to stick to that!  Well that's my weekend in a nutshell.  

Friday Sickness. 2 movie reviews!

Soooo it's been a few days!  I got pretty busy it seemed, I definitely missed blogging.  It's weird...I will think of things and be like oh I should blog about that or write about that, but I am really not sure if anyone will read it or think what I think about is interesting ha.  Oh well, if anything I'll just write to myself!  Kind of like little notes or things to remember.

ANYWHO!  Friday morning,  I felt fine when I woke up but after breakfast I was just miserable.  My stomach and head were at war with one another :(  It was really not a good feeling, I felt like butt most the day. I drank about 3 liters of water and took a two hour nap in the afternoon.  After that, I felt amazing...I think because Hawaii is so warm and I constantly seem to work up a sweat here that I get dehydrated really easily.  So I will have to keep up on my water intake as much as I can.  

I did however watch two movies!  'How to Train your Dragon' and '127 Hours' both once again that I will recommend you see!  'How to Train your Dragon' was awesome, I seriously love pixar movies and when you look back at the very first one aka 'Toy Story' you can truly see the improvements they've made since then.  So remarkable.  But the movie itself was super cute and had a great message, basically to never give up on what you believe in even when everyone else seems to be doubting you.  Kids need to see and hear that message, I myself am a BIG dreamer always talking and thinking about things that I want to do or see that probably may never happen but why not dream!?  I don't see anything wrong with it.  Great example, I told Justin the other day after watching the Men's Crossfit Games Pendleton: "I will be the Fittest Woman on Earth someday."  And he looks at me and goes "I know you will."  I then told my mom this too, and she chuckled and goes, "I believe you."  I also told her, that WHEN I do become the 'Fittest Woman on Earth' that she would need to fly out to Cali to watch her daughter compete in the games and she said, "Without a doubt, I will be there."  See now, the two most important people in my life know that I may dream BIG but If I put my mind to something and commit to it that it will get accomplished, that is just who I am and I praise them for their support.  I couldn't do the things I've done without them.  Therefore, 'How to Train your Dragon' will be a must purchase for my kids when they come along!

'127 Hours' was another really good movie.  This was actually a movie that I watched where I was not on the computer facebooking or doing other things while watching it.  It kept my interest the entire time and the way it was directed was fantastic.  It had many camera effects in it that really sucked me in.  It is about a young guy who goes hiking and doesn't tell anyone where he is going.  He has done this hike many times and figured that nothing could go wrong.  Well...of course...he was wrong.  One false step and he is plunged into a crevasse in the canyon with his hand wedge between a rock and the canyon wall.  For 5 days, he recaps the many things in his life that he should have done better or changed or wish he had changed.  He thinks of all the people in his life that have supported him and how important they are.  It makes you think about all the things you have in life and not to take them for granted.  SO watch this movie!  Plus, James Franco is a stud.

Friday, I made the Paleo Chili I posted in my Food Prep blog and by Sunday night it was already gone.  So delicious.  I will be making that again for sure.  We didn't do much Friday night, went to Crossfit and I found my 1RM Box Jump Height of 33".  I want 35" ugh!  I am very close to it, I will get it soon gotta keep practicing my jump.  The WOD of the day was 20min AMRAP of 8 Toes to Bar, 16 Pushups, 12 Wall Balls.  I finally understand how to properly do T2B which made it so much easier.  **TIP**: Everything in Crossfit is about keeping your core tight!  I did 5 rounds + 8T2B + 16 PUs + 5 Wall Balls...HOWEVER, I did the entire thing wrong because I was doing 20 Wall Balls instead of 12 blah!  I don't know what I was thinking.  Still did pretty well for doing more, I also used the 14lb ball and aimed for the men's dark blue line (Practice for real life competition).  I am going to start mixing it up and using the 14lb ball at the dark blue line and then sometimes use the 20lb ball at the women's line just to get stronger in the movement.  

I was going to write about my whole weekend in one blog but this one got a little long so I will finish up my next EXCITING days in another post ha.

Food Prep and an article about 'Zone vs Paleo' in "The Box" magazine.

I wanted to show some of the things I do for Food Prep that makes Zone Paleo rather easy.  I am getting more familiar with the measurements of how much is 1 block of each protein, carbs, and fat.  Below is what I had for breakfast today, a little change from my usual!  I made a zucchini, bell pepper, onion hash with Eggs over easy or Fried eggs whatever you rather call them.  Along, with avocado.

Here is the measurements of the peppers and zucchini.  1 block peppers is 1.25 cups, 1 block of zucchini is 1.33 cups and 1 block of onions is .5 cups.  I just chop em up and as I am chopping I put them in the measuring cups for my own reference.  I only had 3 blocks of carbs at this meal.

Next, is what they looked like separated.  I sauted up the veggies in the skillet with some salt, pepper, and oregano then fried up the eggs (4 whole eggs = 4 blocks of protein).

Lastly, is the final product! All 4 eggs piled on top of the veggie hash and 4 slices of avocado roughly 4 blocks of fat.  It was so yummy.  I needed a bigger fork to pile it all in my mouth ha.

Dried apples are a great Go-To snack!  I tried soaking them in water and lemon juice before, but those just didn't taste as good.  This time I just sliced up the apples and then sprinkled them with cinnamon...WAY BETTER!

Thought this was cute, a perfect heart!

Great way to keep peppers for a really long time, cut them up and freeze them on a cooking sheet for a few hours then put them in a ziploc, BOOM peppers for easy use in any recipe!  You can also do this with onions.

Lunch Time!  Pretty standard lunch, finally finishing up my turkey burgers!  1 cup zucchini, 1 cup carrots, 1 cup grape tomatoes equals 4 blocks of carbs! 

The AMAZING Paleo Chili I made!  Which Justin loved, if he loves it then I know it must be good because he is SUPER picky.  I can't take credit for it but you can find the recipe here:  Paleo Chili

I highly recommend it! 

Thursday night's WOD: 1 RM of Full Squat Snatch: 75lbs for me, improved by 20lbs and perfect form which I was going for.  Then row 5K...barf...I completed it in 22: 54, pretty good for never doing it before!

Lastly, I wanted to say that everyone should read "The Box Magazine" July/August 2012 issue.  It has a great article on Zone Vs. Paleo and really states that incorporating both are the best of both worlds!

Movie Reviews! The Five Year Engagement and Battle: L.A.

Wednesday night after our delicious pork dinner we watched 'The Five Year Engagement'!  Hilarious movie!  I belly laughed at least 10 times during this movie, I want to buy it for sure.  It doesn't have any huge named actors/actresses, however Jason Segel from 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall' and 'The Muppets' along with Emily Blunt from 'The Adjustment Bureau' are in it.  They do a fabulous job as a couple who keeps putting off their wedding year after year.  It goes through the hardships the couple faces with Emily getting offered a job in Michigan, many miles from their current home San Francisco where Jason has to give up his great job as a chef in a clam restaurant.  From the warm weather to the frigid cold, from a high end restaurant chef to a sandwich shop maker, and the to be "Mrs." striving for her dream career.  I highly recommend it, I loved it.  Has very true to life humor.

The 2nd movie I watched was Battle: Los Angeles.  I have been in the mood for Alien/Action movies and this fit the genre.  After watching Battleship last week, this movie didn't quite meet my expectations.  It was about an alien attack on L.A. where a troop of marines are deployed to pick up the remaining civilians in L.A.  The troop is under a newbie commander Lieutenant who has never seen war, paired with a Staff Sergeant who has served his 20 years and is ready to get out.  They both learn a few lessons from each other during their mission and all the men become a tightly-knit group of brothers in arms.. The story doesn't really focus on the Aliens as much but more so the Marines and their 'bonding' as one group.  The action in the movie is pretty steady and keeps the interest but the cheesy camaraderie kind of takes away from what the Aliens are after and why they have come to earth.  I would give this a 2 out of 5 stars, not comparable to Battleship which I liked a lot more.

More movie reviews to come!  I rented 'How to Train your Dragon', 'The Lucky One', and '127 hours'.

4 days off might as well DO something.

Wednesday was the beginning of my Long week off!  I slept for about 14 hours the night before, took a 3 hour nap Tuesday afternoon then went to bed around 9pm and slept til 7-8am.  It felt GREAT!  And was must needed.  I got up and ate my usual breakfast and decided to go hiking at Ka'ena Point its about an hour or so away from Ewa Beach on the Leeward side.  Basically, Farrington Hwy runs right into it and thats where you start the hike.

 Gotta love self-timer :)

It was a nice 2 hour walk/hike.  Pretty flat land not much you have to climb unless you wanted to go up on a few of the hills which I did.  The trail in leads to the State Park where you'll meet a gate and then you can walk in and see the beach near the water after walking probably another mile you'll meet another gate and thats the end of the State Park.  There are no dogs in the gated area cause some birds do their nesting in the park.  I'd definitely recommend this hike, its one you can surely do alone like I did.  But it would be more fun with a friend, you could probably walk along the rock-lined cliffs and that'd be cool!  I saw a few people doing that :)

***Side Note:  For snacks I had a PowerBar during the hike, it was easy to carry along and not have to worry about fruit or anything else getting mushy in my bag.  For second snack, I had a post-workout protein shake for recovery.

Yet, again the power was out yesterday...thankfully it was after I marinated the pork for dinner and made my usual lunch.  It as out for 3+ hours...

I went early to CrossFit and did some mobilization, went over some of the Shoulder Exercises I am going to coach to my class on Thursday and also the hips and ankles.  We did 1 Rep Max of back squat I didn't do as great as I wanted but up'd my 1RM by 20lbs to 155lbs.  Then we did 3 Rounds for Time of 10 full Squat cleans @ 70% of 1RM, 15 burpees, 20 ab-mat situps.  Those squat cleans were brutal, my hip flexors were smoked! Finished in 11:14 not too shabby, I'll take it!

My pork marinate which was inspired by Frank's Red Hot was delicious!  I had 3 1.5" thick pork chops in a big so I added:

- 1/2 cup of Frank's Red Hot Cayenne

- 1/4 cup of lime juice

- 3 garlic cloves crushed

- 2 tsp of pre-made Caribbean Jerk seasoning.  I had bought those McCormick prepackaged seasonings,  it said Caribbean rubbed steak so I figured that was roughly the same.  I mixed all the seasonings together and used about half of it.  

We grilled it on the grill pan it was very good!  With some sauted Asparagus and carrots.  I didn't weigh my pork I just picked a decently sized one.  Also, I didn't have any added fat with my dinner just at the fat on the pork figured that'd equal out.  I did end up having a snack around 12:30am because my tummy was growling.  I had a cup of frosted flakes and 1/2 cup of milk, very NON-Paleo!  But I cereal is like my kryptonite, I just love it.  Movie reviews will be in the next post!

T.G.I.M.F.!!!

A new acronym just for me T.G.I.M.F aka Thank God Its My Friday ha!  Short week for me at work, only work Sun, Mon, Tues and then off for the rest of the week and its already Tuesday yippie!  Plus, I only had my 4 hour nap yesterday, then went to CrossFit and got raped by "Forrest" ugh.  If your not familiar with the hero WOD "Forrest" it is 3 rounds of 20 L-Situps, 30 Toes to Bar, 40 Burpees, and a 800m run.... talk about smoked.  I did 20 strict black band pullups which is really good for me, all the rest was Rx.  I completed it in 49:14, woof.  I literally wanted to cry on my last 800m run but that's where Mental Toughness comes in and you just keep pushing til you have nothing left.   After that we went grocery shopping, we almost yet again didn't make it...we got there at 8:15 and they close at 8:30 but the guy was like "Just start shopping in the back of the store and make your way up, were not gonna kick you out." ha.  So we POWER shopped and only got things on our list, we budgeted $300 for food and left the store paying $300.28 sooooo HAPPY!  After that it was already 9pm and by the time we ate and put everything away there was really no point for me to sleep, shower and off to work I went.

Recap of Mondays Meals:  (Limited food sources)
Snacks: 1/2 an apple, 1oz pork, 1 macadamia nut
Meal 1: 4ish oz of pork, 3 cups mixed veggies, .5 cup salsa, 4 macadamia nuts
Meal 2: turkey burger, 3 cups mixed veggies, .5 cup of marinara sauce, 4 macadamia nuts
Post-workout: 1 scoop Myofusion probiotic whey protein powder, a few dried apples
Meal 3: 5 oz chicken breast, 12 asparagus spears, 2 celery stalks, 4 dates, 4 macadamia nuts

Tuesday's meal prep for work:

Consists of:

Snack 1: 1 cup strawberries, 1 oz chicken, 1 macadamia nut

Snack2: 1 cup grape tomatoes, 1 oz chicken, 1 macadamia nut

Meal 1: 4 oz salmon burger (only 3 blocks P), 1 string cheese (1 block P), 3 cups mixed veggies, 3 celery stalks, 4 tbsps avocado, and some Franks Red Hot :-P

***Just as a reminder my meal break downs again: Snacks are 1 block of protein, carb, and fat.  Meals are 4 blocks of each.  I am thinking I may up my snacks to 2 blocks not sure thou, I will probably wait to see after the first month on this.

EXCITING NEWS!!! ESPN 2 is going to air the 2012 CrossFit Games woot!  I am going to set my DVR to record all of the events!  Even though I have pretty much watched all of them on CrossFitHQ's YouTube page.

Finishing this post up on Wednesday, last night the power went out UGH!  We didn't attend Crossfit cause we were too gassed from Monday night's hero WOD and I have super bad tear in my hand.  

We decided to rest and went and got Subway since the power was out and we couldn't cook anything.  First time having a sandwich in a month and I did miss them very much so ha!  The one thing I noticed after this meal was that I was pretty full and did not wake up starving the next morning like I normally do after a Paleo-Zone meal.  Interesting post to come:  Hiking at Ke'ana Point, eating for convenience, Mobility + Wednesday's WOD, and two movie reviews!  

CrossFit and Mobility!

I recently have been given the opportunity at our Box to coach the Mobility class we offer on Thursdays.  Hoping to up the class to twice a week if we generate enough interest!  I feel that most people don't see the benefit of Mobility.  Take Justin for example, he states "Why do I need to mobilize, I am already flexible enough..."  Or  "I don't want to waste one of my CrossFit punches on mobility when I can use it for a WOD."  I can agree with his second point but not with the first.

First of all, the purpose of mobility is to increase range of motion.  It also increases your performance and prevents injury!  Mobility involves stretching, lengthening, and clearing of unwanted 'junk' in the muscles, joints, and ligaments through a variety of movements.  For example, You ever feel like you can't hold that weight overhead....well maybe its not that you "can't" or that you are not "strong" enough it is that you don't have the range of motion to support the weight properly.  If your shoulders are not used to their full capacity well then of course you won't be able to load that heavy weight and support it like you should.  Take the overhead squat for instance,  a movement with weight over your head supported by your arms, shoulders, back, core, and then ultimately your hips and quads/hams all in one!  If any of these are lacking in their full range of motion you will not be able to hold the weight properly in order to complete the lift.  When you can not bring your shoulders back past your ears, you are limited in your range of motion, and this limits your ability to control the squat from the top down.

Rich Froning is the perfect example, he gets full range of motion in the locked out position with his shoulders along with his full depth squat.  The Snatch Rear anatomy is the same as the OH Squat it shows all the muscles that are used in this movement. Everything is activated!  If you have tight shoulders or hip-flexors you will not be able to support the weight overhead and drop into the proper squat position.  This is where MOBILITY comes into play!

Watch K-Star as he explains whether its your shoulders or hips giving you trouble!

The overhead squat is not the only example but its a very good one that a lot of cross-fitters have issues with along with the Snatch.   Which are probably my two weakest movements also.  Another thing mobility is good for is soreness or muscle tension.  You ever get knots in your traps area or around your scapula's in your back?  Soreness in your pecs from all those 'Boy Pushups'? Maybe even a twinge in your elbow?  Well for these kinds of issues, we can have some painful fun using lacrosse balls, floss bands, or the rollers.  Lacrosse balls and Floss bands due inflict pain but a good pain because it will release the tension in the tissue and help increase range of motion!  And as K-Star states, "You can always use the help of a SuperFriend!"  

I feel everyone could benefit from Mobility, I especially encourage doing the Mobility WOD then a Group WOD.  I can say from experience it helped me.  Last week, I went to mobility at 5:30 and we worked on our squat depth using exercises that stretched and opened the hips.  Along with a 5 mins Squat test which is BRUTAL.  In the Group WOD we unfortunately did not work on anything squat related but we did 21-15-9 of Push Press @ 70% 1RM then 15 burpees and 20 abmat situps.  After finishing up with mobility my hips felt fantastic! This really helped me to excel in my efficiency of my Push Press, now if your not using your hips in this movement to drive the weight overhead well then your doing it wrong!  To make this movement efficient and fluid you need to use that Dip&Drive motion, or else you will just be smoking  your arms muscling up the weight!  I was able to complete the WOD in 11:33 at exactly 70% of 1RM, RX baby!  I also felt like I could squat a brick-house if need be ha.  So yet again, I encourage one to at least give mobility a try!  You could see major increases in your performance!