Here was an easy 10 minute lunch idea.
Following yesterday’s theme of just mixing it up I placed 3 strips of uncured turkey bacon and 1 uncured pork bacon in the cast skillet over medium heat. Then after a few minutes I added spinach, some paprika and a cover to cook down. Wala! Easy lunch.
Todays programming was inspired from yesterdays Crossfit main site workout
Warm up: skipping rope working from singles to running in place to footwork to double unders for 2 minutes
Front Squat: 10×2 with 1 minute rest between sets
working sets at 175#
Followed by RUN 5K
Score: an easy pace for 23:11
Now for some delicious paleo grub!
This was super easy to make and only took 20 minutes.
1 medium yam
4 pieces of uncured bacon
2 handfuls of kale
Pre-heat oven to 425° slice yam/sweet potato and put in for 10 minutes
Add bacon, kale and place back into the oven for 8 minutes or so. I finished it off by putting it on the stove top at medium heat for a few minutes while I mixed it up a bit with a spatula. I was super deliciousness…
Get after it and good on ya for it!
western
Yesterdays programming and execution was a fantastic reminder of keeping training where it should be so as to get better i.e. training is training, not contest. If training is 4-6 days per week and at 100% intensity every day then your programming had better be perfect so as not to induce a total blow up or injury. The purpose of training is to improve and add capacity to the system, not to savagely beat the system into the ground day in and day out, and the point to the blog post title is that in maintaining awareness of what your days programming is about you can constantly have good days that add to your capacity.
What that all means?: (first the programming)
Crossift main site WOD
Thruster 3-3-3-3-3-3-3
115-120-125-130-135-140-145
21 handstand push ups with technical perfection (no time limit)
21-15-9 of
185lb Deadlift
24″ box jump
wall ball 20lb ball to 10′ target
score: 9:16
My programming for yesterday included an area that requires improvement for me (box jump), along with 2 items in which I perform fairly well (deadlift, and wall ball). I didn’t spend an hour analyzing everything, but I did take a moment to realize the focus was to execute EVERY box jump with technical perfection (even if I must rest between reps to do so) and basically go for broke on everything else. For improvement I need to develop the skill and ability to execute box jumps well before I can begin to apply greater speed, and only as my capacity to do more and more repetitions perfectly improves can I begin to go for broke on lesser quantity say during a competitive WOD with others. To that end lets say the DL’s were at 225lb well then this would have been a totally different workout and likely would not help me much. At that weight this would have been to slow to achieve the desired training effect. In training optimally our training should fit in our life, not the other way around.
Adepto Post (Get After It)
WP
Not super difficult to put this one together! Most of my B-fast’s consist of some variation of the following:
5-6 veg fed egg’s scrambled
3+ pieces of uncured bacon (super deliciousness, also it provides plenty of fat to pour off into a jar for later use with vegetables)
Half an Avocado
Wait, “no bread or cereal or pasta” you say? Well yes, I mean this is a paleo blog. Basically I use this as a go to everyday and sometimes include or sub in a banana or grapes or strawberries etc. as you get the idea. While all my meals are paleo, if you’re a beginner bfast is probably the easiest meal to paleo’fy with dinner placing 2nd and lunch usually being the hardest to get used to. Not that lunch is hard to adapt, it’s simply the meal the has the highest probability of outside influences affecting meal choices and no one is a Saint (that I pal around with anyway).
Good eating and Good on Ya,
WestP
This post follows from the same logic as my ROI training post in that I don’t believe a person should focus on weaknesses that don’t represent glaring holes in their ability to perform whether that be in life, business or competition. Research shows (especially in business) that time is better spent utilizing your strengths, however in CrossFit as in competing there is a high probability that we may be faced with a particular area of weakness e.g. my first CrossFit competition was my first exposure to over head squats. FAIL. In stead of trying to plug every hole in the dyke it is far better to select the one weakest point and hammer on it until such time as it no longer represents the biggest issue.
This post became very clear today when hitting the CrossFit mainsite WOD of 3-3-3-3-3 Over Head Squats, which is a particular area of weakness for me. To preface this I have been following the fullblownpaleo training scheme but adjusted to squatting 2 times per week and have been smashing PR’s all over the place as I did today. However, that doesn’t mean I can get full of myself because my OHS is soft. I hit a triple at 150, but allowed myself to go for max reps at 135 after to create extra volume in position and blasted my previous rep max there.
The picture above is not from today but last week when hitting regular back squats, thus the weight on the bar but that’s my gym… my porch.
Remember that what makes us great isn’t simply that we attempt to improve our weaknesses but that we do so in the face of our fears. Courage isn’t action without fear, it is action in spite of fear.
Over Head Squats:
3-3-3-3-3 + 3 sets of max rep’s at preferred weight
my score: 115-125-135-145-150, 135×8, 135×6, 125×8
GETTING AFTER IT! I’ll do better next time because… why you say??? Because I will never relent. I must pre-apologize to my weakness for utterly destroying them.
PW
My 6 year old son was kind enough to give me his wonderful cough and fever over the Holidays and the gross mucus ridden cough has decided to stick around since. While this did give me pause and put the brakes on training for about 11 days (outrageous I know) I decided it was a good time for a bit of rest. I don’t recall the last time such a stretch occurred without any training, and to be honest it was not at all relaxing or mentally beneficial except in that I was able to spend some focussed time thinking about the FBP training template. While I am making a few revisions and hope to put it together in a more cohesive manner on the site, it is mostly unchanged.
Changes to nomenclature and template:
FBP#1 = week 1 of any particular movement pattern
5-5-5-3-3-3 @ 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85% of 1RM or working 1RM (you choose which to calculate from)
FBP#2 = week 2
5-5-3-3-1-1 @ 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%
FBP#3 = week 3
3-3-3-1-1-1 @ 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%
At week 4 we change movements and start over at #1 for the new move. The point in using a working max (90% of a true 1RM) means always being able to hit every rep with meticulous form and having a bit of gas left in the tank for any crossfit/mixed mode training you may perform.
Now for the training piece:
FBP#1 Hang Cleans
5-5-5-3-3-3 @ 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85% of 1RM or working 1RM
Score: 115, 125, 130, 135, 145, 150lb
note: each rep on all sets felt fantastic. Explosive and clean from the bottom to the top while it felt like the turn over was aggressive and my elbows popped forward with force into the rack position. See, it pays to check the ego at the door and listen to the coach (template in my case)
From Crossfit main site:
5 rounds for time of
12 wallball
12 toes to bar
Score: 4:11
Q: Getting after it?
A: Always!
Pdouble
Cold outside? Who cares, warm up longer. Using the skills acquired through regular use of the Mobilitywod today was about set up and pulling
Strength piece:
Deadlift 5×5 (I used 80% of my 1RM 305)
245lbs x 5
Focus on pulling each rep clean and hard so that when the bar reaches the top and the hip is completely open it feels as though it’s going to jam your arms up into your shoulders.
6 minutes of rest and on to the days Crossfit Endurance work
CFE Strength & Conditioning WOD:
5 rounds for time of:
9 Hang Power Snatches, 75/45 pounds
21 Double Unders
12:00 time cap. Post time to comments.
Score: 5:08
Tabata bodyweight sled drags
165lbs
Here is a fast Paleo dinner idea that kids can even enjoy. Not to mention that they don’t mind helping create this little item, and are more than capable of doing so with little supervision.
For Dad:
Grass fed burgers and sautéed kale with halved avocado
1/2 lb grass fed ground beef
3 cups kale sautéed in coconut oil
Half avocado
For son:
Turkey pickle wraps
Turkey slices
Baby kosher pickles
Idea from everydaypaleo.com
Eat, enjoy and get after it!
Today’s lunch was quick and easy to prepare because it basically requires no preparation. Which is kind of a food theme for me, low to no prep time = I’m a happy paleo camper.
1 super yummy steak (of your choice)
2-3 cups collard greens
1/2 cup sauerkraut
Toss the steak under the broiler and put the collard greens in a wok with coconut oil over medium heat. Toss in some sauerkraut and cover.
Half way through cooking the steak I like to drain the fat into the veggies because we obviously want to maximize our absorption of fat soluble vitamins, am I right? Not to mention it adds a mountain of flavor.
“good day to you sir, I quite hope you shall enjoy an opportunity to get after it”, which is an old timey way of saying get after it.
PW
Simple post. The tortoise and the hare story is told so that kids will learn that it isn’t always about absolute effort, but relative effort. That is to say that if your opponent foolishly burns up their energy and must break you can still win by chugging along slowly, because your effort though slow in absolute terms was ultimately a win relative to the effort of the opponent. That is crap, and the reason is that it’s not at all about chugging along slowly, it’s about who carries the highest average speed. IT IS NEVER OK TO GO SLOW (caveat when competing based on time) However, given the constraints implicit within my stated argument slow or fast is relative to a persons ability.
I would be fine with the tortoise and hare story if the tortoise were not depicted as such. It is obvious that in real life a tortoise would never stand a chance. Maybe I could run a faster marathon than Usain Bolt but even that seems doubtful, granted I pulled off a 3:21 this year. Not everyone gets a metal, not everyone wins. Deal with it, and move on.
Point 2:
How this all impacts awesomeness
Our excellence can only be achieved through competition and exposure to failure. If you never fail at anything then how would you appreciate the sweet taste of victory? Do not let your eyes be averted from the prize, which is moving forward. The original title of this blog was Continual Forward Progression and that is in fact all that truly matters. Win, lose or draw… None of that matters, ALL that matters is moving forward. Train hard, eat well, sleep much, demoralize your opponents and learn both from failures and successes. But above all expose yourself to competition because through that all the rest of this will fall into place.
Today’s programming:
5×3 back squats @ 195lbs
From crossfit.com
7 rounds for time:
205lb power clean, 3 reps
Ring hand stand push ups, 4 reps
I had to scale to 145lb power cleans and hand stand push ups against the wall.
Score: 12:23
Not exactly my day, but I got after it.
