Oh yes you CAN!

Pork Tenderloin

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons dijon honey mustard
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 (2 pound) boneless pork loin roast

Directions

1. Whisk together the olive oil, soy sauce, garlic, mustard, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Place the pork loin in a large sealable plastic bag and pour in the marinade. Marinate in the refrigerator at least 1 hour before cooking.
2. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3. Transfer the pork loin to a baking dish; pour marinade over the pork.
4. Cook in the preheated oven until the pork is no longer pink in the center, 45 to 60 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 160 degrees F (70 degrees C).

Logic'd

Pessimism, cynicism, and all the rest of the negative-ism's need to be chucked.....up out of your vocabulary.  As well, any remaining bits of negativity need to be purged.  There is no reason for you to have doubt in what you can, or may accomplish here to forth.  Right!

Now that we're ten pounds lighter and have a faint waft of confidence about ourselves let us continue.  

Skills are learned and not given.  Strength can come naturally, but must be nurtured in order to grow; funny saying strength and nurture in the same sentence, but it's good.  Everyone has a set of skills that can be put forth in order to become stronger, not just in the gym but in every day living.  Accomplishment is the greatest means to confidence, so accomplish more.  Accomplish more in quality and leave the quantity to the number of reps you have to do tomorrow in the gym.

Here are some basic skills to increase your accomplishments daily, leave the gym stuff out of it for once (Diet is not a gym thing, it's a whole life thing so no donuts......Dave)

Make a list of everything you want to do before you go to bed.  Simple enough.  Use those skills of reading and writing and put them to good use.  Jot down a quick list of WILL DO'S before dancing off on your slumber screen.  Make it a list of no choice will do, don't add "wash hair" or "XYZ"(think third grade on that one).  Here's a quickie for those: 

*Quality breakfast

*430 Class

*Fold Laundry

*Pick Up Dry Cleaning

*Read CF Journal

*Read Headlines

Simple enough, but there is a great deal of confidence that comes along with having a set plan for the next day.  Awesomeness ensues checking off the things you've done.

Secondly if you want to be successful at something read up on it.  There's little doubt that the reason the best people in the gym don't pick up CrossFit walking in the door and set it down before they leave.  You have to invest the things that make you happy.  Become the current affairs person in your group of friends, or the random trivia, or better yet the recipe guru.  I think you know what I'm getting at.  People who are passionate about something are happier.  Don't be lack-luster, be super-luster.  Now get to reading something other than this blog, but please finish this post before you do.

Finally, be proud of what you can do.  Look back at your success and don't let your life be bogged down because you're not in that super awesome job, house, car, boat, plane, train, or have a moped.  You're here and there's not much else you can do about it.  If you can do something about it why wasn't it on the list before you went to bed??? Why haven't you taken that next big leap??? If you can, go for it.  If you can't move on, be proud that the opportunity was there and you let it pass.  Success is once again a measure unto itself.  Set the bar to someone else's standards and you won't meet it.  You have accomplished a lot.  You're through school (or nearly there), you have friends and family, your job provides, you'll wake up tomorrow and increase your awesome ten fold.  

Live long and prosper.

As I struggled to come up with an intelligent and motivating post similar to the ones written lately, something became evident.  There is something this blog has been missing. An incoherent, irate rant about the silly things we say and do as part of the Crossfit community.

So if the last few post have inspired you like Bono’s monologues in between songs during a U2 concert, think of the following content as speed dating with Gary Busey after his three day crystal meth binge.



He likes long walk on the beach.

 “I want to lean out so I can perform better”

If it were true that an extremely low body fat percentage makes you a superior athlete, fashion models would be on the Olympics. There is nothing wrong with wanting to look better for purely aesthetic reasons.  Taking care of your appearance is a sign of pride and healthy self-esteem.

Be honest with yourself and avoid sounding like a fool in the process. The same goes for items as “Strong is the new skinny”. Strong people don’t make excuses for their commitment and passion.

PS: Stop looking at pictures on the internet of Crossfit athletes and hating yourself for not looking like them. Have you noticed how none of them have body hair, stretch marks or dry skin?  Do you think it’s the lack of grain?

“I want to do it RX but last time I did …(fill in the blank) hurt my back/ knee/ leg”

Really?!?! It HURT you?  If you are hurt, go see a Doctor or stay home and rest.  If you are not hurt but rather just sore then suck it up.  Both being sore and injuries are part of being an athlete.  These are your options:

-Stay home and rest or get medical attention.

- Take ownership of your well-being and scale the workout.

-Man/ Woman up.  The fact is your grandpa jumped out of a boat onto a beach in Europe while getting shot at and did not develop Rhabdo.   In the meantime your grandma, who was probably fitter than you, worked in a factory full-time lifting heavy things and was not crippled by injuries. They both went on with their life after the war and gave birth to a generation that expects to look like strangers they see on the media without ever feeling even the slightest of discomfort.

Not worried about fish oil or the mobility WOD.

“I want to do Paleo but I get bored eating the same thing all the time”.

I’m sorry, Pumpkin.  I forgot that your life prior to Paleo was nothing but an orgy of tasting menus at five star restaurants.

Odds are you ate the same stuff every day most days.  Well, get rid of the bread and move on.  In the words of Jim Wendler: “Really?* Fire up the grill.* Put chicken on grill.* Cook chicken.* Eat it.”

You got food choices & plenty of them.  It’s not about your diet choices but your lack of imagination.  By the way, do you remember those folks in Africa your parents lectured you about when you were a kid? They would gladly eat eggs for breakfast every morning.  

Staying Focused

A few days ago,  Jeremy Melissa wrote an article on getting out of your comfort zone.  There was a venn diagram of a circle labeled, "comfort zone," and another circle entitled, "Where the magic happens."  I found myself unable to push into that magical circle today and wondered... Why?  I could make excuses about being by myself,  being sore from yesterday, or maybe a lack of quality sleep but the reality is that these things don't matter.  The clock and the barbell do not care about how I feel.  So when you go to the gym, and maybe you just don't feel like doing the work, what can you do to get over it and get a quality workout.  Here's a few things that can keep you motivated and focused.

1. Listen to your coach.

If your coach is yelling at you to pick the barbell up or get back on the pull up bar... listen to them. Appreciate the fact that not only are they watching you, trying to ensure that you're doing the movement in such a way that you wont get hurt, but they want you to get the benefit of "getting out of that comfort zone." Your body will adapt to either situation.  If you just go through the motions and never really push yourself.. then your body will adjust.  You will become stagnant with your progress.  

2. Talk to your fellow CrossFitters

For the most part, you will be working out with other people when you attend a class.  What a blessing.  Humans naturally bond when they are put into stressful situations together.  The fact that friendships blossom in a CrossFit gym is not a fluke.  It is magic.  How much harder is it to do a workout if no one else is there other than your coach?  There's no friendly competition, no cheering, no high fives, no "come on ____, lets get through this".  When you are in a class, look at everyone.  Take a second and look at what everyone else is doing.  Talk to your classmates and ask them how many rounds they think they're going to get.  Try to pace yourself with someone who is a little more experienced and hold on for the ride.

3. The Whiteboard

This is one of the greatest things about a CrossFit gym.  The Whiteboard will list rounds completed, weight lifted or time completed.  Guess what happens here? You look at these times and you want to perform better.  Every time I go into the gym, I look at the whiteboard and I do everything in my power to get the fastest time, do the most rounds, or lift the most weight.  A natural and healthy competition can arise from the whiteboard and this is a good thing.  Even if I have to do the workout by myself... I know that I have to beat _______'s time... and I know that it's going to suck.

4. Dialing in the Diet

Yes dialing the diet in can help you lose weight. It can help you achieve visible abdominals and help general body composition. One more thing that improving your diet can do is improve your performance at CrossFit.  Next time you do Fran and you've slowed down by 20 seconds, or you can't keep your intensity level up in a longer metcon, or you cant pick that weight up, examine your diet for the past few days.  Maybe it was that trip to Five guys and Carl's frozen custard the night before.  Before you indulge in that bowl of spaghetti carbonara with a loaf of toasted french bread, lasagna, and 3 cannolis, make sure that you are willing to make the sacrifice in performance at the gym and stunting your progress.

5. Goals

Set small achievable goals on the goal board and spend some time knocking them out.  Every time you check a goal off you will get inspired to write another one on the board just so that you can check that one off too.  The key here is to set goals that are not too far in the future.  Yes you can have long term goals as well... but don't just put on the board that you want do string 10 muscle ups together when you can't do a ring dip.  Have that long term goal but break it down into pieces... 10 strict pull ups, 10 strict ring dips, then 1 muscle up, then 3 unbroken muscle ups, then 5 and so on and so forth.

Hope these help! Stay motivated and if you're having trouble... talk to a coach.  It's his/her job.

See you at the gym,

Kent

     

Can It

It's Strawberry Season

Want Fresh?  Pick Fresh!!!

Every year I take my girls to a local farm to pick these wonderful little gifts from God.  If you have never picked your own strawberries I highly recommend you do it this year. 

http://www.millerfarmsmarket.com/marketplace/strawberries

Millers Farm is a local farm right in the heart of Spotsylvania County.  They have a great little store where they sell everything that us Paleo Peeps would love.  Grass Fed meats, eggs, veggies,

 fruits, and heavy cream.  I even found raw honey from a local bee keeper.

I looked the web over for a paleo friendly canned strawberry recipe but came up with nothing.  I then text the one person who would be able to help.  Mr. Ingalls text me back in under 2 minutes with a website for me to go.  With just a little more digging I came across a paleo friendly Strawberry Jam recipe.  I will be making this very soon.  ENJOY!!!!

Recipe: Honey Strawberry Jam

ingredients:

• 6 cups chopped strawberries
• two boxes powdered pectin
• 1 ½ cups honey
• 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

method:

1. Wash and sterilize six 250ml jam jars. Boil the flat parts of the lids in a small pot and keep at a low simmer.
2. Mash the berries with a potato masher and place in a large heavy bottomed saucepan.
3. Add the pectin stir with a wooden spoon, and place on a burner over high heat and bring to a rolling boil. Stir and boil for 1 min.
4. Remove from heat and add the honey and lemon juice and mix well. Return to heat and bring to a boil again, stirring occasionally. Boil for 5 min, stirring constantly.
5. Remove jam from heat and let sit for a couple of minutes, stirring occasionally. It will thicken slightly. Ladle jam into hot jars, then place a flat lid on jars, and add screw rings.
6. Immerse jars in hot water bath, and boil rapidly for 8 min. Remove from bath and place on a towel on the counter to cool.

Yields: 6 cups of jam

Check out this website for some great information on canning!!

http://www.simplebites.net/sugar-free-honey-strawberry-jam


Enjoy and remember to support your local farmers.

Spaghetti and Meatball Bites

Found these on PaleOMG I can't wait to try them! I LOOOOOVE spaghetti squash!

Prep time: 25 mins Cook time: 20 mins Total time: 45 mins Serves: 12

Ingredients:
1 medium spaghetti squash, cut in half lengthwise, seeds removed
1lb Tropical Traditions Grass Fed Ground Beef
1 (14oz) can tomato sauce
3 egg whites, whisked
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 tablespoon dried thyme
salt and pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon fat of choice (I used bacon fat)

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Cut spaghetti squash in half lengthwise, use a spoon to remove the seeds and excess threads.
• Place spaghetti squash cut side down on a baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes. Make sure not to overcook!!
• Add your ground beef to a large bowl and add 1/2 tablespoon of parsley, basil, and thyme and a bit of salt and pepper. Combine.
• Make your ground beef into small bite-sized meatballs.
• Now place a large skillet under medium heat, add your fat then small meatballs.
• Then add your can of tomato sauce, extra herbs, and salt and pepper.
• After meatballs have cooked for about 3-4 minutes, flip them and let them simmer in the sauce.
• While the meatballs are cooking through, remove your spaghetti squash from oven and use a fork to dethread the squash.
• Turn oven down to 350 degrees.
• Place silicone cups in your muffin tin then add your spaghetti squash threads to eat silicone cup, pressing down in the middle of the cup for the meatball to sit.
• Once the meatballs are done cooking, remove them from the sauce, and place each one in a muffin tin.
• Now pour just a little bit of beaten egg white on top of each muffin, spaghetti squash and the meatball.
• Bake for 18-20 minutes or until egg is completely cooked through.
• Add extra sauce to a bowl and dip your spaghetti and meatball bites in the sauce! BOOM!

Choices

We are all blessed to be living in a country where we have the freedom to make choices. The problem is that we make many of these unconsciously and sometimes those choices end up preventing us from accomplishing our goals. If we repeatedly make these choices it WILL become a habit.  

What are your goals? What CHOICES are keeping you from this goal? Perhaps your choices are changing now that you are 20 days into this challenge. What is your ACTION PLAN to achieve those goals?

I challenge you, in these last 10 days, to commit to follow through with your action plan and create a new habit. In order to do this, you will need to become conscious of your choices, knowing that each choice you make will impact the creation of your new habit and the attainment of your goal. It’s your choice. Make the right one. Change your choices and you will change the habits. Change your habits and you will change your results.

Paleo Pizza

I don't know about the rest of y'all, but I miss my pizza. While this may not have that cheesy goodness and oh so good flour crust, it gets the job done. 

Crust

1 ½ cups blanched almond flour

¼ teaspoon sea salt

¼ teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large egg

Toppings

Whatever your little heart desires....except cheese. 

Preheat oven to 350. Set aside a large baking sheet and cut 2 pieces of parchment paper to the size of the baking sheet.

In a large bowl, combine the almond flour, salt, and baking soda. In a separate bowl wisk together the olive oil and egg. Stir the wet ingredients into the almond flour mixture until thoroughly combined.

Place the dough between the 2 sheets of parchment paper and roll into 10 inch circle. Remove the top piece of parchment paper and transfer the bottom piece of parchment paper with the rolled out dough onto the baking sheet.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until lightly golden. Remove from oven and add toppings while still warm.

I like to throw everything I can on the pizza. It helps hide the fact that there is no cheese. I also throw the pizza back in for a few minutes after adding the toppings to get them nice and warm. Load that badboy up with meat and throw down. Enjoy folks….we are over halfway through the month.   

Part of the Crowd

Do you admire your coach?  Do you revel in their ability to put a few words out into the universe and all the sudden you get your first double-under or kipping pull-up? 

What they can do is advise you best how to be successful.  They do it ten times daily with various athletes and athletic back-grounds.  The best coaches pull for you more than you pull for yourself.  But they can never move the weight or pull you over that bar themselves.  Your coach will push you to be personally responsible for your own success.  You have to trust that this isn’t the same fad diet or Jane Fonda DVD that hasn’t worked before.  This is an opportunity for you to wholly invest yourself, with an amazing support group, in order to become that much healthier.  

People now expect everything to work in 30-minutes or less, but the best things don’t work like that.  There is no pill that makes you feel achievement, lose weight (safely), or make friends.  You have to realize that if you have been out of shape for two-plus years, it is going to take about that much time to undo.  You can’t expect to pay less but get more, this isn’t Wal-Mart.  If you want to achieve your fitness goals then you have to make them consume you.  You have to look at what you’re doing outside your fitness routine to make yourself successful.  

You have a group of people whose goal is to make you stronger, healthier, and happier than you were when they met you.  Your coach, for what ever class you may come to, has goals they want you to achieve, they aren’t astronomical or without worth.  The goals your coach has for you are for your own personal success.  A coach won’t get rich by making you deadlift 300 pounds or snatch 95 pounds.  As a matter of fact your coach will probably never have any great measure of material wealth.  But they invest more in you than you may have known before reading this.  

The take aways from this are: you are your own measure of success; work towards your fitness goals outside of the gym; high-fives and ass-slaps (same sex only please) are awards for achievement; and lastly there is no one else to blame for your success or lack there of. 

People don’t like to hear that it’s their fault for where they are.  It’s always easier to blame someone else, don’t do it. You have too many people to help you to be successful than to say otherwise.  As well, you have to revel in your successes.  Don’t get mired down in what you can not do and miss all that you have accomplished. 

You are the reason for your own success, start acting like it.  

P.S.-Please take a moment to think about the vast amount of time your coaches have put into every second you’re there.  The knowledge gained isn’t through osmosis.  It takes hours outside the gym to find the best way for people to put up PR’s.  It takes hours outside the gym to find out how best to stretch that little ache out of your lower back.  It takes hours outside the gym buried in books and online articles to find the best way for you to become healthier.  Coaches are just as much invested in your success as you are.  

P.P.S-Ass slaps are only OK if you’ve been to that persons house.

Squats Again?!?!?!?

So the question has been asked before to several of the coaches in the gym:  Squats again?!

We are aware that years of misinformation on the effects of weight training (especially on females) may make you a little hesitant about loading the bar and going for it. Well, rest assured that we wouldn’t ask you to do anything unless we knew it would make you better, faster & stronger.

I could spend the rest of this post telling you about the testosterone response that will make you more muscular & lean, the overall strength you will develop, or how the squat is the epitome of functional exercises.  I could do that or just show you the next video.

We hope everyone takes the test in the near future.

ROASTED MARROW BONES

This is a rather adventurous dish for all of our paleo challenge participants.  I absolutely love bone marrow.  It tastes like the most decadent butter with a beefy essence.  Seriously guys it doesn't get much better than this.  I would serve it with some of Tiffany's paleo crackers (ask her nicely for the recipe), a parsley salad, and some fleur de sel. 

For the bones you will need,

-8 or so grass-fed beef marrow bones  ( purchase at wegman's or even better get them from a local farm)

-Kosher salt

-ghee

-Fleur de sel

Soak the bones in ice water with a couple tablespoons of kosher salt. Refrigerate overnight. If you can, change the water out once or twice.  This draws the blood out... it's not necessary but it will make a better quality product.

Preheat the oven to 450F and prepare a pan thats lightly coated with the ghee.  Stand the marrow bones up in the pan and roast about 15 minutes until the marrow starts to run out of the bones a little. Test for doneness by inserting a skewer into the marrow bone and then pulling it out and holding it to your wrist to see if its hot.

Parsley Salad

- 3 cups mixed parsley and arugula

- 1 finely minced shallot

- 2 teaspoons of capers (chopped)

- Zest of one organic lemon

- 3 TBSP Quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil

- 1 TBSP Fresh Lemon Juice

- 1 tsp dijon mustard

- Kosher Salt, Freshly cracked black pepper to taste

In a bowl add the lemon juice and dijon mustard and whisk.  While whisking constantly add a little bit of the oil at a time until it emulsifies.  Add a pinch of salt and some pepper.  Add remaining ingredients and toss in the bowl.

The idea of serving the bone marrow with this salad is to cut the richness of the fatty marrow with the acidity and pepperiness of the vinaigrette.  To eat this delicacy serve the bones hot and with a small spoon to scoop out the marrow.  Spread on some plain paleo crackers with a sprinkle of fleur de sel and top with the dressed green salad.  Tell me it's not delicious after you've tried it.  I dare you.  If you make some please let me know so i can come and join you. This is absolutely one of the best things I've ever eaten.  After you are finished with the bones, put them in a big pot with a couple of onions, carrots, celery, a head of garlic, and some fresh herbs.  Fill until completely covered with water and gently bring to a boil.  Adjust the heat so that it's barely simmering and let it go for 6-12 hours, skimming occasionally.  Strain and you have the best beef stock you've ever tasted.  Refrigerate the stock or freeze it for later use.

Love,

Kent

Paleo My Way "Day 15"

WATER!!!!!

So the paleo challenge is going smoothly.  Everyone is staying away from gluten and refined sugars.  We are feeling better, and performing better.  The cravings have died down and the headaches are gone.  Or are they????  Do you still have moments of weakness?  Moments when you feel like you are back in the first week?  Question......Have you ever looked at your water intake?  Are you drinking enough?  

Interesting Facts About Water

• 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated. (also applies to half the world population)

• Water is absolutely essential to the human body’s survival. A person can live for about a month without food, but only about a week without water.

• Water helps to maintain healthy body weight by increasing metabolism and regulating appetite.  Even MILD dehydration will slow down one's metabolism as 3%.

•  One glass of water will shut down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of the dieters studied in a University of Washington study.

• Water can prevent and alleviate headaches.

•  Water leads to increased energy levels. The most common cause of daytime fatigue is actually mild dehydration.

•  A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen or on a printed page.

•  Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers.

• Water is the primary mode of transportation for all nutrients in the body and is essential for proper circulation. 

• Water aids in the digestion process and prevents constipation.

• Water leads to overall greater health by flushing out wastes and bacteria that can cause disease

• Water naturally moisturizes skin and ensures proper cellular formation underneath layers of skin to give it a healthy, glowing appearance.

• Drinking adequate amounts of water can decrease the risk of certain types of cancers, including colon cancer, bladder cancer, and breast cancer.

  

 Start measuring your water intake.  Make sure you are getting enough.  Normally you should be drinking an once of water for every pound you weigh.  Take into account however that we are CrossFitters.  We need more!!!!  Start drinking TODAY!!!!!!!

 

 

  

  

  

 

Bacon Wrapped Sweet Potato Fries

I love a hot batch of seasoned sweet potato fries fresh out of the oven. So naturally when I saw this recipe on Health Bent my taste buds were intrigued. I gave it a whirl and was not disappointed.  

INGREDIENTS:
2 medium sweet potatoes, cut into matchsticks about the width of your pinky finger.
8 oz bacon, don’t use thick cut

Get your oven to 425°F and place your oven rack in the center of the oven. Slice each piece of bacon in half, lengthwise and then in half, widthwise. So you’ll have 4 strips cut from 1 piece of bacon. Wrap 1 strip of bacon around 1 matchstick sweet potato. Lay on a baking sheet that’s been lined with a silicone pat or parchment paper. Repeat until all the bacon is gone. If you have left over sweet potatoes, toss ‘em on the pan too, they’ll cook beautifully in all the rendered bacon fat. Bake for 15 minutes until the sweet potatoes feel soft. Then turn the oven to broil and let the tops get crispy.

Paleo Cereal!

Let's face it...we all miss something! Whether it be Nachos, Doritos tacos, beer, peanut butter. Well I miss cereal (esp Honey nut cheerios). But a few months ago I went on a road trip with Mrs. Tiffany Phelps and she introduced me to a wonderful new kind of cereal. This is what you will  need:

 Grab a bowl.  In the bowl add a little bit of canned coconut milk (depends on how much you want)...I usually do about 1/4 cup. Add a large hand full of blueberries. Then add 1/4 cup of slivered almonds and a 1/4 cup coconut chips.  (You can now buy the bigger chips at Wegmans. If you can't find them...then shredded coconut is fine.) Sometimes I add cinnamon..sometimes I don't. (depends on my mood).
And it ends up looking like this...

I tell you...I love it. It gives you the crunch...the sweetness...it makes me feel like I am having cereal. It just makes me happy!
 So what are you missing? Maybe someone can help you find a paleo substitute that you might like even better.
Stay Strong!--Melissa

Carnitas

Supplements

I dare you to walk into the end of a CrossFit class and not hear the tell tale sound of a shaker cup.  Oh and if you’re not familiar with the sound it’s sound like some ones playing Yahtzee around the corner, or better yet a bunch of bums throwin’ dice.  It’s a sound associated with Longevity and muscled bros.  Ahh, the shaker cup.  But what does one throw into this mighty chalice of life you ask......supplements.  

Not all supplements are created equal.  Nutrition is the main reason that elite level athletes have arrived at the Home Depot Center year after year.  It’s not a simple science knowing what to feed your body, but there are some basic needs for the novice athlete.  

Multi-vitamins.......

Every athlete needs to take a multi-vitamin.  Ideally you would get every micronutrient your body needs through your diet.  Unfortunately we, modern peeps, often neglect the necessary: organ meets, berries, and veggies that would have sustained us in the past.  

Now which multi is right for me????

Novice athletes.  I use this term to define your three times a week athlete whose goal is to be healthy and active.  Novice athletes can have elite level skills just lack the desire to train at that level to be competitive in the region, sport. 

This athlete can use any basic multi.  Try any brand that has a large gamete of micronutrients.  Honestly the more the better, there are some tailored for older bro’s and ladies of the gray.  Stick with it, take that multi like your life is almost depending on it.  Think like filling up the gas tank, not life ending but damn are you pissed when the gas runs too low and you’re behind for that meeting/thing you need to be at.  Womp, womp.

Also a good fish oil is a necessity, good being defined as having clearly defined EPA and DHA amounts.  You’re looking for the most bang for your buck.  It should ideally appear around 2:1.  Otherwise it’s been tampered with and isn’t as pure as most, your’s truly, would like to see.  Take the recommended does twice daily, one about thirty minutes before your bed time routine and the other when ever.  Taking fish oil in the morning helps your body obsorb fat soluble vitamins like A, E, D, and K.  On days when you feel crampy, crapy, hung over, sick, run down take a double dose each time.  Trust me it’s a good thang.  

Lastly invest in a shaker chalice, cup.  Get your favorite, no frills protein and take it post WOD.  This will help you last longer as in life, and get you back in the gym sooner.  Don’t make me get into all the shenanigans about it.  Trust me.  It’s another thang, Muscle Milk and Optimum Nutrtion make the no frills kind that taste good, are cheap, and you’ll find them any where.  Now Shake Seniora.   

Those of you who wish to be competitive, the shaker cup elite look into better cleaner products.  At Large Nutrition makes a great protein called Nitrean+ that is a great way to boost your protein levels while avoiding a bunch of crap that is in other products.  Look into taking Beta Alanine pre-wod, it diminishes muscles fatigue, might be a good thing for CrossFitters (Any store brand is great).  As well, taking a ZMA complex at night is a great way to increase recovery and up your sleep (Muscle Pharm ZMA Max is the great because it also has melatonin, they also make Bullet Proof which is another good nighttime recovery product).  Finally take a Mico-Lactin supplement, it does wonders for your joints and is also an anti-inflammatory, plus plus.  Add some BCAA's and your helping your body to stay anabolic, that's creating muscle, and avoid the dreaded catabolic state where your body breaks down muscle tissue.  

I have taken it upon myself to verify the very disturbing statement on the poster.

Sadly it is true.  There also appears to be a number of other actions that will have the same tragic results.  I have researched the whole World Wide Web for the sake of cute furry creatures everywhere (Cue sad Sarah McLachlan music in the background). 

Those actions are:

-Cooking a steak past medium.

-Squatting above parallel.

-Talking on your mobile while driving.

-Men over the age of 25 wearing skinny jeans.

-Any man of any age wearing skinny jeans.

 -The Olive Garden.  Not eating there or even the idiotic commercials; just the existence of such place is enough.

-Drinking Lite Beer. Not because of the gluten just cause it taste like feet.

The Ice Bath

I hate them.  I really do.  But from personal experience... they do help with the healing process after intense sessions in the gym.  Here's a little information on some techniques on how to do it and why you should.

Simply prepare a cold bath with the help of a bag of ice and hop in as soon as you possibly can after you finish your training session.  The water should ideally be 10-15 degrees Celsius. (50 degrees F) Contrary to popular belief... it does not need to be ICE COLD water.  Stay in for 10-15 minutes.  The hardest part is getting in and staying in for the first couple of minutes.  If this is impossible for you do muscle through, there's a second option.  Contrast therapy will give the same benefit.  To perform, one simply needs to set up a cold bath and a hot bath or shower.  Get in the cold bath and stay for one minute, then switch to the hot for two minutes.  Four or five cycles should do. 

So what's the science behind it? Why in the hell would you ever want to do subject yourself to this form of torture?  When we work our bodies, our tissues suffer from micro-trauma.  After a particularly lengthy or intense sessions, We know that our bodies are going to be sore the next day or even the day after that. (DOMS)  In an effort to prevent or at least shorten our downtime to heal we can use a technique called cold-water immersion.  The exposure to the cold constricts blood vessels, decreases metabolic activity, reduces swelling, helps stimulate repair of tissues, and flushes waste products.  After the areas go numb from exposure, we then get out of the cold and warm ourselves up.  Blood flow increases to the affected areas, flushes out our muscles and further stimulates growth and recovery.

Try it out.  Post your results.  Let us know how the ice bath works for you.   

Day 8 of "Paleo My Way"

Happy Easter CrossFit Forward

 

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend with family and friends. Are you able to keep all those cravings at bay?  This is a difficult time for everyone.  Run away from the candy bowls and Aunt Susie Q's famous yeast rolls.  You'll thank me later.

So, how is everyone sleeping?  Good? Bad?  Not at all?

I know for a lot of us, sleep has been somewhat of a challenge since "Paleo My Way" has started. 

Here are some tips for getting those needed hours of ZZZZZZZZ's:

http://everydaypaleo.com/

Stay strong my friends. Everyone is doing a great job. 

Lindsay

Holidays Can Be Healthy

Easter is right around the corner; along with this glorious holiday comes baskets full of empty calories and sugar laden temptation that can send your healthy lifestyle into a tailspin. I can understand with children it may seem easy to just give in and stuff their baskets with Cadbury Eggs and Chocolate Bunnies; however, you have to ask yourself what kind of example you are setting for the kiddos. There are tons of resources online with tips and tricks on how to stay on track during holidays. Like this one from Robb Wolf or this one from The Paleo Mom .

With a little planning and thinking outside the box, you and the fam can still be festive and enjoy a calorie friendly celebration.

Delish-ish-ness in a Jar

Melissa's Greek Salad

Ingredients
Salad Dressing:
1/2 teaspoon salt (add more to taste)
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
3 teaspoons dried oregano (or basil…or both)
2 or 3 garlic cloves, minced
juice of ½ lemon

¼ cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil

(Sometimes I whisk in Dijon mustard…sometimes Honey if I want something a little sweet. Get creative!)

Greek Salad:
1-2 heads of romaine lettuce
1/4 cup pepperocini, thinly sliced
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
a few thin slices of red onion
1/2 cup cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 cup Kalamata olives, pitted
( if you are doing cheese) 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Add in chicken or steak if you want to make this a main dish

Make this salad your own…add different things. I added mushrooms tonight.

Directions
Begin with combining all of your salad dressing ingredients in a bowl and whisk in the oil until the ingredients are combined. I love putting mine in a mason jar (I don’t know why…I just like the look of it.) Cover your bowl and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours to allow the flavors to blend. Toss over salad. Enjoy!

Coping with Paleo Anger

RAWR

Hello everyone, this is Jeremy AKA “J. Eck”. For some reason they asked me to write a blog today. I know you are scratching your head wondering why they’d ask me (don’t feel bad, I’m doing the same). Guess they ran outta cool recipes to share or they’ve all decided to off themselves because they can no longer have sugar. Either way, here we go. 

Welcome to day 5 of the Paleo challenge.  At this point, most of you are probably going through “awesome” food withdrawal and contemplating killing your significant other and all those around you; Don’t feel bad, I felt the same when I first started paleo; truth be told, many-a-nights Heather woke up to me standing above her with a pillow in my hand and crazy look in my eye….Love you baby.  Here is the place I’m supposed to tell you it gets easier and blah blah blah. Well guess what?? J. Eck don’t sugar coat anything.  Depending on your previous diet, these next 9 days may be hell. All that being said, let me give you some pointers on handling the rage and anger that is built up inside you from the sugar withdrawal.

1.  Know that coworker who is eating pizza right now and making it look so damn tasty? Ya, walk over to him or her and slap the pizza outta their hand and punch them in the face. WOW, that felt great didn’t it???

2.  Know that female coworker who comes in with her Viente Carmel Frappachino and a double chocolate chip muffin for breakfast? Please walk up to her, take that Frappachino, and dump it over her head while screaming obscenities at the top of your lungs. Remember that double chocolate chip muffin? Grab that muffin, take a few bites of it, and spit it out…you’re not technically ingesting it so you’re still on the paleo band wagon (J. Eck will not hold anything against you).

3.  Know those vending machines at work with all that wonderful junk food and sugary beverage to wash said wonderful junk food down? Walk out to the car and lift the mat in your trunk, see the spare tire, floor jack, and tire iron? Grab that tire iron and walk back to those dispensers of devil food (I prefer doing this when tons of people are in the break room, no one is gonna mess with you after you pull this one,  #streetcred and skating on easy street from here on out) and begin beating the living crap out of it with that tire iron (while yelling obscenities of course)……Don’t stop now, let that thing know that you mean business (don’t worry about your coworkers, who is gonna stop the crazy person wielding a tire iron and destrominating the vending machines?). Now walk back to your desk and sit down like nothing happened. Feel better yet?

Those are 3 ideas devised, approved, and condoned by J. Eck.  Feel free to use your imagination and think of a few of your own (please share as I like seeing what makes people tick).  Hopefully, this brought some humor to your situation. If you do decide to follow through with one of my ideas, please DO NOT call me as I do not have the money to bail your crazy A$$ out; I will deny ever knowing you and erase this blog so that there is no evidence to bring me down with you. Good luck and stay strong folks and I promise this will all pay off.

Slow-Cooker Short Ribs

Slow-Cooker Short Ribs

Cooking time 8-10 hours

Serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS

* 5lbs Short Ribs

* 1/2lb Nitrate Free Bacon

* 1/2 Bottle Dry Red Wine

* 1 Bouquet of Rosemary

* 4-5 Bay Leaves

* 1 14.5 oz can of Muir Glen no-salt added Tomato Sauce

* 7-10 Organic Carrots

* 2 Onions

* Salt & Pepper

* 10 Cloves of Chopped Garlic

* Twine 8-10 inches

***The twine may be found at any butcher shop/grocery store just find the meat counter and ask for twine to tie up a roast with and they should be more than happy to oblige***

Cooking Instructions

Coarsely chop the carrots and onions and place in the bottom of the crock pot.  Pan fry the bacon and retain the grease.  Sear short ribs about one minute per side, just until they have a good brown on them, salt and pepper them to your liking and place in crock pot (I evenly coat them in sea salt and coarsely ground pepper).  After you have the ribs in the crock pot evenly spread the garlic around, onto ribs.  Next I pour the tomato sauce and 1/2 bottle of wine over ribs.  Lastly take the bouquet of rosemary and place bay leaves inside, tie up with twine and place on top.  Wine should cover the top of the ribs, you can add more tomato sauce or wine to accomplish this depending on the size of your crock pot.  Cover and let cook for 8-10 hours.  

Day 3 "Paleo My Way"

Day 3

The following is  a collection of blogs & articles from other affiliates.  Most of what you will read may not be news to you, but it may help you clear some destructive myths regarding diet & exercise.
After reading them you will notice several common themes:
1) Sugar is sugar.
2) Lift heavy things if you want to look better.
3) Terms like Paleo, Paleo friendly, Paleoish, etc, mean absolutely nothing.

Enjoy.





http://www.crossfitinvictus.com/must-read-posts/training-for-fat-loss/
http://crossfitoneworld.typepad.com/crossfit_one_world/2011/08/transformations.html
http://www.crossfitinvictus.com/must-read-posts/liquid-death/
http://robbwolf.com/2012/03/02/but-the-label-says-paleo/

Kent's Roast Chicken

Kent's Basic Roast chicken

Cooking Time = approximately 1-1.25 hours

Serves 4-6

One 2 pound free range, organic, happy chicken

1 lemon, zested and remaining lemon cut in half

2 slices of uncured, nitrate-free bacon, chopped

3-4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

One good handful mixed fresh herbs, ( parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme) mix and match all or just a couple

Salt and pepper

1/2 cup grass-fed butter

2 pounds carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks

2 large sweet onions, peeled and cut into wedges

( optional) one large celeriac, peeled

Cooking Instructions

Preheat oven and roasting pan to 425 degrees.  Wash your happy chicken inside and out and thoroughly dry.  Season whole chicken inside and out with salt and pepper.  Peel back the breast skin with your hands and stuff with half of the butter, herbs, and lemon zest, and all of the chopped bacon.  Take the remaining herbs, butter and zest and rub the outside of the chicken.  Stuff the cavity with the lemon and tie the legs together (truss). Put onto the pan in the oven to cook for 15-20 minutes while gathering the remaining ingredients.

Get the vegetables into the pan, toss them around in the melted goodness, and position the chicken on top of the vegetables so they can soak up the delicious drippings.  Cook the chicken for another 45-60 minutes until skin is well browned and thermometer registers 160ish degrees. Pull out to rest for 10 to 15 minutes, remove the meat and vegetables and put the pan on the stove.  If you'd like a gravy, hit the hot pan with a glass of dry white wine, and a little stock. Scrape up all the brown bits with a sturdy spatula and let reduce until delicious. Pour on top of vegetables and meat and enjoy.