9/23/10 WOD - "Elizabeth" PR

Trained with a friend at Elysium today while our two kids watched from their gate

Warm-up: 15 burpees, Burgener warm-up for clean

Skill/strength: clean, aim for a new 1RM by 35min after the hour. Got up to 133 lbs, not a PR today

Metcon: "Elizabeth"-

21-15-9 reps of

- 135 lbs (men)/ 95 lbs (women) squat clean (yes, a full squat clean)

- ring dips

***I finished in 12:55--PR! I'm pretty sure I was doing 3/4 dips most of the time as I just didnt feel like I was going quite deep enough. I got 17:34 on 8/2/10 and had to scale with the purple band on the dips, so I'll take the new time.

9/22/10 WOD

Trained alone at home.

Warm-up: CF warm-up x1 (minus the pulls) and stretching

Met-con only: 43:15 minutes on the spin bike at level 16.  Got up to 14 miles.  My thighs are burning after the last three days...

9/21/10 WOD

Trained alone while Marlie napped.

"Angie" 
100 Pull ups 
100 Push ups 
100 Sit ups
100 Air squats
I didnt due the pulls (I need to install a bar at home) . Last time I did this was in Dec 09 and it took me 15:19 mins. ***Today I finished in 8:33.

Two yummy side dishes

Garlicky Greens Recipe:

If you are using spinach ignore the stem instructions below. With spinach I simply trim any long stems. Also, feel free to make this vegan and/or dairy-free by leaving out the Parmesan cheese. Toasted almonds or pine nuts are a great substitution (or addition).

1 large bunch of kale, chard
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
fine grain sea salt

1 leek, sliced 5 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (opt)
crushed red pepper flakes

To de-stem each leaf of chard/kale, grab the main stalk in one hand and strip the leaf from the stem all the way up with the other. I then tear the big leaves into bite-sized pieces, but you can use a knife for this task if you prefer. Wash the greens in a big bowl (or sink) full of clean water, rinsing and swishing to rinse away any stubborn grit and dirt. Drain, rinse again, and set aside.

Hold off cooking the greens until just before eating. Then, in a large skillet heat the olive oil. Add a couple big pinches of salt and the leeks. Cook on medium high three minutes till caramelized. Add greens.  Stir continuously until their color gets bright green, and they just barely start to collapse - four or five minutes, depending on how hot your pan is and how much structure your greens have. Then, just thirty seconds before you anticipate pulling the skillet off of the heat, stir in the garlic. Saute a bit, remove the pan from the heat, stir in the Parmesan, and add a big pinch of crushed red pepper flakes. Taste, add a bit of salt if needed, and serve immediately if not sooner.  Serves 2- 3

Simple Cauliflower:

2 - 3 heads of small cauliflower (or 1/2 head large)

2 tablespoons of olive oil

a couple pinches of sea salt
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small bunch of chives, chopped
zest of one lemon
freshly grated Parmesan
a bit of flaky sea salt

To prep the cauliflower, remove any leaves at the base and trim the stem. Now cut it into tiny trees - and by tiny, I mean most florets aren't much larger than a table grape. Make sure the pieces are relatively equal in size, so they cook in the same amount of time. Rinse under running water, and set aside.

Heat the olive oil and fine grain salt in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add the cauliflower and stir until the florets are coated. Wait until it gets a bit brown on the bottom, then toss the cauliflower with a spatula. Brown a bit more and continue to saute until the pieces are deeply golden - all told about six minutes. In the last 30 seconds stir in the garlic.

Remove from heat and stir in the chives, lemon zest, and dust with a bit of freshly grated Parmesan cheese and a pinch of flaky sea salt (if you have it on hand). Serve immediately.

Serves 2-3 as a side.

9/20/10 WOD

Trained with the 11 a.m. Elysium class today while Marlie yelled and drank her milk. 

Warm-up: row 500m; 10 burpees 

Strength: press 3 x 3 reps.  Got 85 lbs x3, 90 x1 (old PR), 85 x3, 85 x3 

Met-con - 4 rds for time:

-20 wall balls, 20 lbs men/ 15 lbs women

-5 thrusters, 155 lbs men/ 105 lbs women (OK to take the thrusters from a rack)

That SUCKED!  I nearly puked on rounds three and four--all I could think about was just finishing.  My drive to get a good time went out the window today.  I even stopped to take a drink of Marlie's milk thinking that would coat my stomach a bit....it didn't :-(

***I finished in 13:45 

9/17 WOD--two PRs!

Trained with the 11 a.m. Elysium class today.

Warm-up: Burgener Warm up for snatch

Strength:  Snatch, 20 minutes to establish max lift

***Got up to 113 which is a new 10 lb PR

Clean & Jerk, 20 minutes to establish max lift

***Got up to 138 for clean and jerk.  This is a 13 lb PR for the Jerk.  Switched to the split jerk today which really helped with the heavier weight--love it!

Met-con: Off

9/15 WOD

Trained with the 11 a.m. Elysium class. 

Warm-up: CF x1, 10min mobility work

Strength: gymnastic: tuck support- 3 min total acumulation 

***20 secs, 25 secs, 21 secs, 25 secs, 19 secs, 20 secs, 24 secs - total of 7 rounds to get 3 mins.

Met-con: 30 sec on, 30 sec off, 8 rounds

parallette shoot throughs

***got 8, 5, 6, 5, 4, 4, 5, 5 

Good day of skill building!

Zucchini Ricotta Cheesecake Recipe

Let me preface by saying, I don't include dairy on a daily basis as it's not true paleo form.  BUT, I do incorporate it on occasion and think it's okay every once in a while.  Not sure about you, but I love cheese!

To shred the zucchini use a box grater - most micro planes are too fine, you want shredded zucchini, not mush. Feel free to play around with the "add-in" ingredients - for example, use whatever chopped herbs you like. I had dill on hand, and I like how it tastes with summer squash, so dill it was. I suspect anything from chopped olives, sun-dried tomatoes, or chives, to spices, chopped spinach, or corn could work here. Also, when I have the time and inclination I'll drain the ricotta through cheesecloth to get even more moisture out of the cake, but to be honest, most times I won't bother. Lastly, I use a springform pan here, but you could use an equivalent baking dish or deep tart pan as well.

2 cups zucchini, unpeeled & grated
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
2 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
1/2 cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese
2 shallots, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped
zest of one lemon
2 large eggs, well beaten
1/3 cup goat cheese, crumbled
drizzle of olive oil

Preheat oven to 325F degrees, racks the middle. Butter/oil a 7-inch springform pan.

In a strainer, toss the shredded zucchini with the salt and let sit for ten minutes. Now aggressively squeeze and press out as much moisture as you can. Set aside.

In the meantime, combine the ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, shallots, garlic, dill and lemon zest in a medium bowl. Stir in the eggs and continue mixing until well combined. Now stir in the shredded zucchini. Fill the springform pan with the ricotta mixture and place on a baking sheet. Place in the oven and bake for sixty minutes. If there is any moisture left on top of the cake at this point, carefully use a bit of paper towel to dab it off. Now sprinkle with the goat cheese and return to the oven for another 20 -30 minutes or until the goat cheese is melted and the cake barely jiggles in the center (it will set up more as it cools).

At this point, if the cake is baked and set, but the top isn't quite golden, I'll zap it with the broiler (just about a minute) to get a bit more color on top. Remove from the oven and let cool five minutes, then release the cake from its pan. Cool completely, serve at room temperature drizzled with a bit of olive oil and a few sprigs of dill.

Serves 8. 

9/14/10 WOD

Trained alone while Marlie slept

Metcon only:
Spin bike workout - Level 16 for 14 miles for time.  **I finished in 43:50.  Not a PR today....felt good on the knee though.

9/13/10 WOD -- PR!

Trained with the 11 a.m. Elysium class today while Marlie ate raisins and watched from her play-saucer.  

Warm-up: CF x1 and stretching

Strength: Thruster 3x3.  I got 85 lbs x3, 115 x3 (PR!), and 120 x3.  I was happy to get a PR here since my knee has not been tip top and thought I may not be able to handle the heavy weight again today.  

Met-con: 

5 rounds for time:

-5 thrusters (135 lbs men /95 lbs women)

-10 burpees

 ***I finished in 9:50

9/12/10 WOD

Trained with Ben and the 12 p.m. Elysium class while my daughter Marlie and Luca (18-month-olds) looked on and cheered.  It was great to see the usual suspects and a lot of new faces too.

Warm up: 10 squats, 400 m run, 10 push ups, 5 burpees, squat stretch, 10 sit-ups

Met-con: Since today was a team workout, Ben and I paired up for the first time and it was fun.
Four rounds for time:
-400 m run (both)
-30 burpees (split however between teammates)
-50 sit ups (split however between teammates)
***We finished in 23:03.  We divided up the work equally between the sit ups and burpees so I was able to do everything unbroken.  Great workout, thanks Sweets and Paul!

I didnt do this but would like to give a try soon...

Crossfit.com main-site 9/11 WOD: 

"The Seven"

Seven rounds for time of:
7 Handstand push-ups
135 pound Thruster, 7 reps
7 Knees to elbows
245 pound Deadlift, 7 reps
7 Burpees
7 Kettlebell swings, 2 pood
7 Pull-ups
Mikko Salo 19:19. Chris Spealler 20:56. Graham Holmberg 24:37.

Enlarge image
A suicide bomber killed seven CIA officers and one Jordanian officer at a remote base in southeastern Afghanistan on December 30, 2009 after posing as a potential informant reporting on Al Qaeda. Seven new stars will be etched onto the memorial wall at the CIA where every star represents grieving friends, family and colleagues dedicated to fight against the enemy, forever in their name.
Killed in the attack were CIA officers Jennifer Lynne Matthews, 45; Scott Michael Roberson, 39; Harold E. Brown Jr., 37; Darren LaBonte, 35; Elizabeth Hanson, 30; and security contractors Jeremy Jason Wise, 35, and Dane Clark Paresi, 46.

I want this shirt...actually, make it a tank top.

9/10/10 WOD

Trained with a friend at Elysium in the morning.

Warm-up: CF warm up x1 and hip mobility stretching

Met-con:

As many rounds as possible in 15 minutes of:

-20 pull-ups

-10 front squats, use 75% of your one rep max (I used 75 lbs which is 50% of my max. Scaled down to protect my knee)

***I completed 6 rounds and 8 pulls

9/9/10 WOD

Trained alone at Elysium tonight just before coaching the 5 and 6 p.m. classes.  First night back in a few days of rest due to a cold. I was also too tired to make healthy food so I ate like crap and I really felt it!  My shoulders are already fried.

Warm-up: CF warm-up x1

Met-con:
Five rounds for time at 95 lbs (men)/ 65 lbs (women) of:
-5 shoulder presses
-10 push presses
-15 push jerk

***Took me 21:24....no comment

Thanks for the pic Brandon

9/8/10 - Paleo mandarin cilantro tilapia

Ugh, Marlie picked up a cold at her first week of school last week and now I'm home sick :-(  This calls for a yummy paleo dinner...

Ingredients

·         Olive oil

·         1 cup almond flour or meal (Bob's Red Mill Almond Meal)

·         1 egg, lightly beaten

·         4 tilapia or flounder fillets, about 5 ounces each

·         Salt

·         Freshly ground black pepper

·         2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

·         2 teaspoons red chili paste

·         1 (11-ounce) can mandarin oranges, drained and chopped

·         1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Directions

Heat enough olive oil, to shallow fry the fish, in a large skillet over medium-high heat

In a shallow dish, whisk the egg and a few dashes of salt. Place the flour in a separate shallow dish.

Season both sides of fish fillets with salt and black pepper. Dredge fish in egg and turn to coat both sides. Dunk the fish in flour mixture and turn to coat both sides.

Add fish to hot oil and cook 2 to 3 minutes per side, until cooked through and have turned a medium brown color (a little longer for a crispier crust). Remove fish from oil. Place on a paper towel lined plate.

While the fish is frying, in a medium bowl, whisk together lemon juice and chili paste. Add chopped mandarin oranges and cilantro and toss to combine. Serve sauce over fish once you have removed the paper towels.

9/6/10 WOD - Team "Murph"

Trained with the 9 a.m. Elysium class this morning.

Warm up: 400 m run and CF warm up x1

Met-con - Team "Murph"

-1 mile Run

-150 Pull-ups

 -300 Push-ups

-400 Squats

-1 mile Run

For time.  Partition the pull-ups, push-ups, and squats with your teammate as needed. Start and finish with a mile run which can also be split up between teammates but you cannot start the bodyweight moves till both partners are done with the run.  Same with calling time at the end of the wod.

***We finished in 35:50 (guesstimation today, didn’t write it down).  It was a great workout and my partner kicked butt!  

In memory of Navy Lieutenant Michael Murphy, 29, of Patchogue, N.Y., who was killed in Afghanistan June 28th, 2005. 
This workout was one of Mike's favorites and he'd named it 'Body Armor.' From here on it will be referred to as 'Murph' in honor of the focused warrior and great American who wanted nothing more in life than to serve this great country and the beautiful people who make it what it is. 

First posted 18 August 2005


-Murph always did his workout with a twenty lb vest on!

9/5/10 WOD

Trained alone while Marlie took a nap

Met-con only:
Spin-bike workout - Level 16 for 14 miles for time.  ***I finished in 41:56 minutes

Robb Wolf - The Paleo Solution

This book will be available soon and I cant wait!

9/2/10 mini-WOD

Trained alone at Elysium this morning while Marlie was at school.  I miss her bursts of excitement and "three...two...one....go!" but it was nice to be in and out of there too without the scattered toys, sippy cups and raisins all over the floor.  She'll be back in the gym on Mondays at least so we'll get our baby-cheering section fill in then.

Warm-up: CF warm-up x1

Met-con only:  Five rounds of-
-21 thrusters at 55 lbs (women)
-21 double-unders (I subbed triple singles)

***I finished in 13:32.  I HATE double-unders and I'm terrible at them which means I definitely need to train them more but in the interest of time, I went with singles today.

Check out this blog post: http://practicalpaleolithic.com/paleolithic-diet-blog/is-strong-the-new-skinny