Kettlebell Training and Meals 6/20/09

This morning I woke up excited and ready to learn kettlebell basics! After having my green drink and some green tea, my sister and I headed off to Jersey Shore Crossfit. When we arrived, the morning Crossfit class was just winding down. They were doing their stretching and it looked like people of varying ages and ability levels. I'd say there were about 20+ people there.

Mike Stehle, one of the owners, was super friendly. We started with learning a basic squat movement. From there he went into kettlebell swings, one arm swings, cleans, clean and press, clean front squats, two arm high pull, one arm high pull, and thrusters. I used an 8kg kettlebell and that seemd fine to start with. Thankfully there were only 5 of us in the class so he was able to spend some time observing and correcting our form. I really like the explosive nature of the movements. After that we did push ups, inverted rows with rings, and assisted band pull ups. I felt it was a good overview of the basics in this hour and half class. Just enough to make me want to know more and practice the exercises!

Next Wednesday, I will be attending a 4 hour workshop in Hamilton, NJ taught by Dr. Mark Cheng and I hope to learn even more! I think after this workshop I can probably get started one to two days a week in practice and if I feel like I need some assistance, I will certainly set up a private lesson with Mike Stehle. My first impression of kettlebell training is that it is very technical and you really shouldn't jump into it without getting some instruction by an RKC. You can find a qualified RKC in your area by clicking here and entering your zip code.

Seperately, I tried some different things in my diet today. These were my meals for the day:

1. green drink w/kale, collards, red swiss chard, spinach, celery, cucumber, parsley, ginger, apple, lemon juice, apple juice, 2 tablespoons hemp protein powder, 1 tablespoon flax oil, green tea

2. 1 cup strawberry kefir w/scoop Miracle Reds, serving of Mrs Mays nut/fruit crunch

3. 2 egg white, 1 egg omelet w/salsa, raw diced red pepper, and 1/2 avocado

4. raw chocolate banana smoothie (from the Thrive book)
1/4 cup raw almonds, 2 cups cold water, 1 banana, 2 pitted dates, 1 tablespoon each of hemp powder, raw cacao nibs, flax meal (serves 2)

5. Sushi Saturday - salad w/ginger dressing, side order of bean sprouts, 1 order salmon sashimi, 1 order Toms River roll (spicy tuna and avocado inside w/salmon on top)

6. cherries w/nut and seed crunch bar

For those not familiar with hemp protein powder, it is a raw food powder made from the hemp plant. It is usually imported from Canada because it's illegal to grow hemp in the U.S. It has no gluten, dairy, lactose, or artificial sweeteners. I paid $12.99 for a 16 oz container of Nutiva Organic. I will say the raw chocolate banana smoothie was delicious! High in antioxidants and easy to make. I would definitely make it again.

I am feeling a little sore but nothing terrible. Probably going to run tomorrow. I haven't done that since last Wednesday. Tomorrow I will also be updating my training and goals for next week!

Raw Food Crazy and Meals 6/19/09

I think I have gone raw food crazy. Really! I took the kids to the library today and came home with 4 books:

Eating in the Raw by Carol Alt
Eat Smart Eat Raw - Creative Vegetarian Recipes for a Healthier Life by Kate Wood
Everyday Raw by Matthew Kenney
Vegetarian Sports Nutrition - Food choices and eating plans for fitness and performance by D. Enette Larsen-Meyer PhD, RD

The truth is I love to read books about diet and fitness and I love cookbooks. I can't get enough of either. The library is great because it doesn't cost a thing and I might learn something new!

This afternoon I did my food shopping for the few raw meals I am going to cook or should I say NOT cook next week! I'm curious to see if there is anything I'd keep in my diet.

I didn't work out today. Instead I chose to relax and I'm feeling rested so I'm ready to kick butt tomorrow.

Here's my meals for today:

1. syntrax nectar protein drink, then greens drink w/1 tablespoon flax oil, green tea

2. chobani plain greek yogurt w/handful blueberries, serving of Mrs Mays nut berry crunch

3. 1/2 c chickpeas, 1/2 c quinoa, few tablespoons salsa, diced raw red pepper

4. raw organic broccoli, cauliflower, sugar snap peas, w/3 tablespoons roasted garlic hummus

5. spinach salad w/raw green beans, grape tomato, 1/2 diced avocado, asian dressing served w/4 oz shimp cocktail (w/cocktail sauce), green tea

6. cherries, nut and seed crunch bar

I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am to learn basic kettlebell exercises and get a sampling of the workout they do at Jersey Shore Crossfit. Hopefully I won't be too sore to go for a run on Sunday!

Stay tuned for tomorrow's post!

Workout and Meals 6/18/09

I went to bed early last night and got up at 4:30 am. I guess going to bed early really doesn't do much for me. The plus was that I was definitely well rested and ready for my workout this morning!

Here's how the day went:

Meals
a.m. - workout
1. syntrax nectar protein drink w/brown rice cake
after shower - green drink w/1 tablespoon flax oil, organic coffee w/organic 1% milk

2. 1 cup strawberry kefir w/scoop Miracle Reds, serving of almonds

3. salad with 3 oz organic chicken breast, spinach, grape tomatoes, slivered almonds and asian dressing, a pear, green tea

4. organic raw cauliflower and sugar snap peas w/3 tablespoons Sabra roasted garlic hummus. YUM!

5. 1/2 c black beans, 1/2 c quinoa, few tablespoons of salsa, diced raw red pepper, green tea

6. snack pack cottage cheese, handful of cherries, nut and seed crunch bar

Workout
NROL4W Phase 1 workout B

5 min bike warm up followed by bridges

deadlift - warm up 45x6, then 3x10 - 60, 60, 70

alternating
db shoulder press - warm up 10x6, then 3x10 - 12, 12, 15
wide grip lat pulldown - warm up 50x6, then 3x10 - 60, 60, 70

alternating
lunge - warm up 8x5, then 3x10 - 10, 12, 12
swiss ball crunch - 3x12

5 min bike cool down + stretching

Weight portion was 29:29 with bike and stretching about 42 mins.

Debating what I'm going to do tomorrow. I'm thinking either spin or sleep. I've got that Kettlebell Foundations class on Saturday morning so I may need to rest up!

Workout and Meals for 6/17/09

I was up until 11:30 pm last night watching TV and that is pretty late for me. I did manage to get up this morning for my workout but somehow was just not in the mood to hit the gym. I took a detour to my favorite workout place, the local high school track. It was 6 am, a crisp 50 degrees which is perfect running weather.

Here's the workout I did:
light jog around the track
8 rounds 30 second sprints, followed by 1 min rests
6 rounds stadium stairs with 5 vertical jumps no rest
light jog around the track
stretching

I didn't have my watch with me (thankfully threw Gymboss in my bag) but this took under 40 mins total.

Meals
a.m. - workout
1. syntrax nectar protein drink
after shower - green drink w/spinach, kale, collards, red swiss chard, celery, cucumber, parsley, ginger, apple, lemon juice, apple juice, 1 tablespoon flax oil added after blended, green tea

2. 1 cup strawberry kefir w/scoop Miracle Reds, serving of almonds

3. 3 oz organic chicken breast w/black bean avocado salsa, a pear

4. organic cauliflower, broccoli, sugar snap peas w/3 tablespoons hummus

5. 3 oz chicken burger, 1/2 cup quinoa, roasted asparagus, green tea

6. cottage cheese snack pack, small handful raw cacao nibs, cherries, nut and seed crunch bar

A friend recently asked me what I do with a bunch of red swiss chard and I told her that I throw it in a green drink I make every morning. Her response to that was, "If I didn't work I'd do that too". So that had me thinking how much time it REALLY takes to drink greens in the morning. Well, this morning I timed it. 14 minutes. That's to take the vegetables out wash and rough chop them and blend them. Clean up is easy. Wash the blender. Just because I'm home I have all the time in the world? With two littles I really don't have the time! It really just goes to show if it's important enough to you, you find the 14 minutes to fit it in. I like alot of variety in my drinks but you could take 3 ingredients and make a drink. It's still whole foods you are consuming, just blended in a drink!

Tomorrow morning is lifting! Looking forward to a good night's rest!

Workout and Meals for 6/16/09

This morning I was excited the workout was going to be a little different. The same exercises but the sets and reps changed. Just enough to shake it up but not too much. I am also happy to report I made a really good decision to switch from my usual white rice to quinoa. I don't know why I didn't include this pseudograin sooner. I always have some in my refrigerator! The rice cooker is just so quick and easy though.

Here's how my day went -

Meals
a.m. - workout
1. immediately following - syntrax nectar protein drink w/1 tsp glutamine, a brown rice cake
after a shower - green drink w/spinach, kale, red swiss chard, collard greens, celery, cucumber, parsley, ginger, an apple, lemon juice and apple juice, 1 tablespoon flax oil, green tea

2. chobani plain greek yogurt with 3 sliced strawberries and a handful of blueberries, serving of almonds

3. 3 oz grilled shrimp w/black bean avocado salsa, a pear

4. organic raw cauliflower, broccoli, sugar snap peas w/3 tablespoons hummus

5. 3 oz chicken burger, 1/2 cup quinoa, roasted asparagus

6. cottage cheese snack pack, handful of cherries, nut and seed crunch bar


Workout
NROL4W Phase 1 workout A

5 min bike warm up followed by bridges

squat - warm up 45x8, then 3x10 - 55, 60, 65

alternating
push up - 3x10
seated row - 3x10 80, 90, 95

alternating
step up 3x10 - 12, 12, 15
prone jacknife (my new fav exercise) 3x12

5 mins bike then stretching

Total time to complete weight portion 29:15, so about 40 mins total.

Unfortunately I didn't get up to leave myself enough time to get the sprints in SO I'll be getting up tomorrow morning to do them!

Food Observations and Workout/Meals for 6/15/09

Have you ever paid attention to how you feel after eating certain foods? Does the back of your throat itch? Do you feel nauseated? Do you have high or low energy after consuming the food?

I've kept a food diary for years and one thing I know for sure is that I feel like I have amazing energy the more raw vegetables I eat. As you all know, I consume raw vegetables in the form of a drink every morning and for about a month now my mid-afternoon snack has been raw vegetables and hummus. Throw in an occasional salad as lunch or dinner and I'm practically living on vegetables.

Yesterday, I had a piece of cake at a party and I've never felt so sick. Sugar rush, nauseated for hours, felt really tired and then my knee started hurting. You heard me right....my knee! My bad knee, the one I had a cyst removed from in 2003. I think sometimes people think that "getting older" causes all these aches and pains. I think people underestimate the power of food and how it affects just about everything. Hormones, sleep patterns, exercise recovery. You'd be amazed. I require less sleep than I used to and I feel refreshed when I wake up. It's quality restorative sleep. The kind where muscles are growing ;-).

Anyway, yesterday made me think I'd like to try incorporating more raw foods into my diet. I've been reading Brendan Brazier's book Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life and there are some interesting raw food recipes I'd love to try. I love to cook and try new things so this is a perfect little experiment. My husband will eat just about anything so I luck out in that department. I plan on incorporating at least one recipe next week and see how it goes. I'm going to pay special attention to how I feel after eating these foods. Don't worry, I'm not going to turn vegetarian or vegan. I just want to try something different!

This morning there was a substitute spin teacher and she kicked butt! I mean, I was wishing I wore my heart rate monitor to see what was going on. The worst part about it is I forgot my towel and I SWEAT! So I had to take some paper towels and hold them in my hand and make do. Great way to start the week!

Here's how the rest of my day went:

a.m. - workout - 45 min spin class
1. immediately following - syntrax nectar protein drink
after a shower - green drink, w/1 tablespoon flax oil, green tea

2. chobani plain greek yogurt w/handful blueberries, serving of almonds

3. 3 oz grilled shrimp, black bean/avocado salsa, honeydew melon

4. raw organic cauliflower, broccoli, sugar snap peas w/3 tablespoons hummus, handful goji berries and cacao nibs mixed

5. free range organic chicken drumstick and thigh, 1/4 c white rice, roasted asparagus, green tea

6. handful cherries, snack pack cottage cheese, nut and seed crunch

Tomorrow, NROL4W plus sprints. Woohoo! Ready to rock it!

Workout and Meals 6/14/09 and Goals for Next Week

Busy day today. We had a christening party to go to in the afternoon. A few of my meals show what I ate at the party. It's not TOO terrible!

Here's how the day went:

Meals
a.m. - workout
1. immediately following - Syntrax Nectar protein drink w/1 tsp glutamine, brown rice cake
after shower - green drink w/ spinach, kale, collard greens, red swiss chard, celery, cucumber, parsley, ginger, apple, lemon juice, apple juice, 1 tablespoon flax oil mixed in, green tea

2. 1 cup strawberry kefir w/scoop of Miracle Reds, serving of almonds

3. 1 egg, 1 egg white omelet w/black bean avocado salsa, honeydew melon

4. raw broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers w/ a little bit of some kind of creamy dip

and get ready for this......

5. small piece of chicken saltimbocca, 1 meatball, 1 eggplant rollitini, huge serving of salad w/balsamic dressing and a piece of strawberry shortcake!

6. fresh cherries, nut and seed crunch bar

Meal notes - I skipped the bread and penne vodka so I could have a piece of cake which was from this amazing local bakery. Halfway through eating it I got such a sugar rush and then I felt sick for 2 hours after that! So much for that!

Workout
NROL4W Phase 1 workout B

5 min bike warm up followed by bridges

deadlift - warm up 45x8, then 2x12 - 60, 65

alternating
db shoulder press - warm up 10x8, then 2x12 - 12, 12
wide grip late pulldown - warm up 50x8, then 2x12 - 60, 60

alternating
lunge - warm up 8x5, then 2x12 - 10, 12
swiss ball crunch - 2x10

Then I headed outside for some killer sprints. 30 second sprints followed by 1 minute recovery for 8 rounds. Wow!

Total time for the weight portion of this workout was 21:25. Add in the bike and my sprints. Total workout time 38:25.

Workout notes - Those bridges are really helping with glute activation. I notice a huge difference! Next workouts will be 3 sets of 10. The sets increase and the reps are decreasing so I can really push those weights. Looking forward to it!

The plan for next week:
Monday - spin
Tuesday - lift + sprints
Wednesday- OFF (or sprints if not done on Tuesday)
Thursday - lift
Friday - run or spin
Saturday - Foundations kettlebell and bodyweight class!
Sunday - OFF

I have decided to hold off updating numbers and pictures until the end of Phase 1 which is a few more weeks. I figured I'd take pics at the conclusion of each Phase just to be consistent.

Ready to kick butt next week, are you?