Recovery Day

Im doing the last Sectional competition workout tomorrow and I'm hoping to finish this feeling great to give me some confidence going into the next month before Regionals.

Today I was feeling a little tired and sore.  Yesterday I did a run where I think I felt the best I have ever felt running.  The workout was:

Jog for 10 min
+
3 sets of:
30 sec tough run
30 sec sprint
then 3 min jog; repeat 5 times
+
Jog for 10 min

Hopefully this feeling persists through the weekend when I test my 2 mile run on the track.

Since my legs were tired today I focused on some recovery.  I worked 5 hours today so this is what I fit in throughout the day:

AM: 
45min massage and stretch - lacrosse ball mobility between shoulder blades, ball in glutes, and ball in VMO.  Trigger point foam roller on calves and hip flexors.  Shoulder extension stretch with band, hip flexor stretch on wall, hamstring stretch with strap, and pigeon stretch on box.  I felt a lot better after this session.

Noon: 
Ice batch - 10 min in then 3 sets of out for 2 min/in for 2 min

Late afternoon:
1 hour nap-  This felt needed and I was refreshed afterward.

Dinner:
I finished the day with a great healthy meal in preparation for my early morning competition.

I roasted a whole chicken with garlic, lemon, and herbs along with some sweet potatoes.  The side salad was a broccoli salad that I made from a lady who puts out a great blog www.everydaypaleo.com.  The salad turned out fantastic.  I diced up a bunch of broccoli and threw in bacon (which makes EVERYTHING better), apple, carrots, green onions, fresh dill, olive oil, vinegar, and mustard.  I added some walnuts which weren't on the recipe.  Check out the full recipe here.   This salad turned out great and I will enjoy it all week as there were tons leftover.

It was a great way to wrap up my day and Im feeling prepared to go give it my all in the morning, then wrap up the competition and gear up for the month of May!

Superfoods!

I remember my Mom sending an email a couple years ago with a list of the top 20 superfoods. I set out to eat all 20 in one day. It was actually easier than I thought but I wouldn't recommend it because it made my stomach a little "soft" if you know what I mean. I think there are a lot more than 20 superfoods, but I will always remember this list because when I think about eating healthy, I often think about items on that list.

Since I started turning up the intensity in my training, I also turned up a notch my healthy eating. Today I had some healthy leftover options along with some things that my Mom gave me which I threw to together to form a pretty superfood lunch. I recently discovered some new foods that I enjoy such as leafy greens from Whole Foods. A worker there showed me a list of the top rated vegetables for nutrient density, so I've just been experimenting from the top of that list.

I threw all these ingredients together in a pan with coconut oil to make a stir-fry:

1) Leftover chicken I baked the night before with some spices.
2) organic red bell pepper
3) white onion
4) chopped up brussel sprouts
5) broccoli
6) mixed nutrient dense greens - Whole Foods has this bin with a bunch of chopped up kale,collard greens,swiss chard and others
7) water crest - this was rated as one of the most nutrient dense. It's kind of spicy like arugula
8) black walnuts my mom gets these at her farmers market. They are the best I've ever had!

When I was done I had a few blueberries which is another one on the superfood list. I bought them from Trader Joe's and it must be season or something because they were the largest ones I've ever eaten.

It sure was a superfood lunch!

Paleo Challenge foods!

My gym just did a Paleo diet challenge through Thanksgiving that just ended today. It entailed adding up points for everything eaten in the last month. Small splurges equated to 1 point while worse foods were 2 points. Alcohol was 3 points and an entire cheat meal was 4 points. The most points you could get in a day was capped at 12 points and considered a cheat day. We also subtracted a point for every workout that was completed.

My total was 38 points. Not great, but felt pretty good. The majority of points came Thanksgiving week and the rest of the points came from dairy, protein bars, and paleo desserts. So I feel it is not as bad as it looks especially considering it was Thanksgiving. I think the most important part of eating healthy is how you feel and perform. I know when I eat unhealthy as my body will tell me, I sleep worse and my stomach gets upset from not being used to "bad" foods. The last month I felt good and I topped it off with a PR in Fight Gone Bad a couple days ago. So I guess I need to learn from this that I dont have to be absolutely perfect. I want to strive to eat as healthy as possible but have an occasional worse food to keep me sane. I just want to keep those worse foods to foods that are not that bad. I feel when I try to eat absolutely perfect, the stress that comes with it is not worth the effort.

I want to include my food and workout log of the last month so you can see what are some splurges to me. In between all of these cheats were typically a perfect Paleo/Zone meal consisting of lean meat, veggies, fruit, and healthy fat. The healthier I eat the more that some simple every day foods for most people are big splurges to me such as dairy or dark chocolate, and that is how I want it to be. Raising the Bar!!!

Month Paleo Challenge

Day 1 11/8

dinner = homemade pork chile from client (delicious) = (+ 1) point

Day 2 11/9

workout x 2 = (- 2) point

Day 3 11/10

workout = (-1) point

Day 4 11/11

homemade marinara sauce w italian sausage from same client (even more delicious) - (+1) point

Day 5 11/12

workout x 2 AM & PM = (-2) point

dinner = (one of my birthday meals) Gardinos cheat meal (fried calamari, beer, scallops battered, chocolate covered almonds) = (+4) points

Day 6 11/13

workout = (-1)

Day 7 11/14

cheat meal (day spent in San Fran, a planned cheat day) = wine taste, chips & guacamole, crap chalupa, hot fudge sunday = (+4) points

Day 8 11/15

0 points (YES!!!) - back on track

Day 9 11/16

workout x 2 = (-2)

butter on cauliflower (lots of it) = (+1)

Day 9 11/17

workout x 2 = (-2)

Day 10 11/18

half n half in coffee = (+1)

candied walnuts in very healthy salad with tons of veggies = (+1)

Day 11 11/19

2 x wods = (-2)

1/2 think thin protein bar = (+1)

Day 12 11/20

2 x wods = (-2)

think thin protein bar = (+1)

cheat meal = thanksgiving party with friends = sweet potatoes, gravy, stuffing, 2 x beers = (+4)

Day 13 11/21

cheat meal (not ready to start the week) = Willow Street restaurant - chicken pesto 1.5 beers, cookie, fudge, paleo pumkin ice cream = (+4)

Day 14 11/22

think thin protein bar = (+1)

yougurt w berries = (+1)

Day 15 11/23

workout x 1 = (-1) (back on track the next couple days before the big Turkey Day)

Day 16 11/24

workout x 3 = (-3)

Day 17 11/25

workout x 2 (-2)

cheat meal - thanksgiving - mashed potatoes, 1 glass wine, stuffing (+4)

Paleo Ice cream, (+1)

side note - today was not too bad, considering the Thanksgiving the year before I ate so much I threw up - read about it here

Day 18 11/26

ommellete with cheese = (+1)

Vallerianos dinner of asparagus salad, pork, veggies with mashes potatoes = (+1)

yumi yogurt = (+1)

Day 19 11/27

cafe latte = +1

milkshake from Great Bear coffee (AWESOME) = (+2)

cheat meal 1 slize pizza and 2 beers (+4) playing poker (not very good)

Day 20 11/28

lunch = (+2) gluten free sandwich

dinner = (+1) some paleo ice cream + 1/2 paleo brownie

Day 21 11/29

3 x wods = (-3)

Day 22 11/30

2 x wods = (-2)

lunch = feta cheese in salad = (+1)

dessert = few bites of greek yogurt plus 3/4 think thin = (+1)

Day 23 12/1

lunch = feta cheese in sald = (+1)

butternut squash sauce w butter ingredient on spaghetti squash = (+1)

paleo ice cream - (+1)

Day 24 12/2

(lots of dairy today hmmm)

wod = (-1)

breakfast = paleo coffee cake = (+1)

lunch = goat cheese in salad = (+1)

coffee w milk = (+1)

dinner = gorgonzola in salad = (+1)

yumi yogurt= (+1)

Day 25 12/3

wod x 1 = (-1)

truffle fudge 1 bite = (+1)

Day 26 12/4

AM = yogurt = (+1)

noon = bloody mary + clam chowder during town parade= (+4)

pinkberry yogurt= (+1)

Day 27 12/5

WOD X 1 = (-1)

think thin protein bar - (+1)

cheese + gluten free tortilla = (+2)

TOTAL = (+37)

Paleo?

Trying to get back into some healthy eating, it has been nice eating some bad foods that I have been craviing for a long time, I have to say the stress levels are a lot lower.  Some of my favorites have been Mexican food with a Modelo Especial and ice cream.  But been trying hard now to get back on the wagon.  Almost there, except I cooked this healthy meal and my girlfriend made cous cous to along with it, not paleo but it went with the meal well.  It was a recipe from the blog "What I feed Rory," and it turned out good.  It was sauted garlic, onion, cherries, kale, and chicken with balsamic vinegar and dijon mustard.  Pretty good!

Here is a workout I did over the weekend with a couple friends, it's always nice to have some people there to push me, especially on the weekends when nobody is around.  My strategy of going all out in these workout has been going great as you can see the first round was fast and unbroken, obviously I slow down some, but this is helping me get comfortable with the uncomfortable.  I had a bet with Matt in the video to see who could win the first round, then who could continue on and win the rest of the workout.  Its like a little side bet in golf, who can get closest to the hole off the tee shot, then who can be first one in the hole, it helps to have a little something on the line, maybe I will start betting money haha.  It's a little more painful and probably not a good idea to do in competition because usually in a 20min amrap I would pace a little and try to get a god score, but it is a good practice to struggle through an entire workout.  And if you read my previous post, the top guys in Crossfit definitely fail a lot.  You spike your heart rate early and see how long you can hold it there, a good way to get comfortable with the uncomfortable.

Joey "PosterBoy" Warren from Joseph Warren on Vimeo.

Still Paleo...still eating like a king

 So I have been enjoying the spaghetti squash so much, I decided to make it again.  Not very creative, but I'll stick with what I enjoy especially if its this healthy.  This time I cooked a nice big New York steak, grass fed, I picked up from Whole Foods and I ate about 8oz of steak.  Maybe a little much but it was good.  The sauce I put on the squash was just like my Mom's, fresh basil, chopped tomatoes, garlic, and olive oil.  On the side was roasted veggies cooked in the oven consisting of eggplant, cauliflower, mushrooms, and onions.  Another great meal!  

I will be consistently improving my nutrition this next month gearing up to peak my performance in the gym by the end of the month.  It will be an exciting month, I will work harder than I ever have.  Stay tuned!

Paleo Food!

After the holidays I need to get my butt back in gear with some cleaner food.  I think getting back in a routine will help with that, but in the meantime I have been trying creative ways to eat healthier. Ill be sticking with no gluten, no dairy, and no processed food for the month of January.  Then the food I choose, I will try to stick mostly with the healthiest vegetables, fruits, lean meats, nuts and oils. 

 The bottom picture is some fresh Halibut and shrimp I picked up from a fish market in Monterey Bay CA, after leaving the Monterey Bay Aqyuarium.  Haha, I guess I was in the mood for fish after seeing all those cute creatures.  My girlfriend helped cook all this as I baked the fish perfectly and had a hell of a time peeling off all the shrimp legs before grilling those guys.  The fish turned out great and was the freshest fish I have had in a long time.  This was sitting on top of spaghetti squash with an olive oil based pesto sauce.  This tasted just like pasta and it was so good.  On the side my girlfriend made brussel sprouts with prociutto.  This turned out to be a perfect side but was a little salty.  First she boiled the sprouts for a few minutes then put them in ice water to stop the cooking.  Then she fried up the prociutto in olive oil with garlic until crisp before adding low sodium chicken broth and the brussel sprouts.  It turned out well but beware that prociutto along with the chicken broth are high sodium.  Everything paired up perfectly especially the Edna Valley Chardonnay I had from the Central Coast of CA.  Oops thats not Paleo but it was such an extravagant meal I wanted to make it complete with just a little wine to wash down the fish.  Can you tell I loved the meal, and overall it was pretty healthy and Paleo friendly.  For all of you that say you get bored with the Paleo diet, here is a perfect example of how to be creative.  And there was so much more fresh fish at the market that I wanted to try. 

The top picture is my Mothers version she made the next night.  It is spaghetti squash with fresh basil and tomato drizzled with olive oil.  She grilled shrimp and got fresh crab from the farmers market in Paso Robles, on the central coast of California.  It looks like she added parmesan cheese, Ill give her a slap on the hand, but I bet it was good though.  Then she cooked a lamb shank for my Dad which would be another good meat to be used on top of the squash. Too bad my dad wont eat the squash, hes Italian so he wont have anything but real pasta. So there are many ways to fix this meal just like there are many ways to have pasta at an Italian restaurant.  So don't tell me you're bored with the Paleo diet!

Tonight Im going with some steak, I've been eating like a king this holiday break.  But soon Ill be back to left over chicken and spinach salad with broccoli.  So im enjoying this.

Becka's Bars from Crossfit Norcal

Check out this healthy and economical way to make energy bars,  great to snack on at work, on the run, or before a workout.  I will try to make them soon and let you know how they turn out!

Becka's Bars from Crossfit Norcal

Modern Health Guidelines Disparity in Views

How can there be so much discourse on health guidelines? Especially looking back the last five decades, one can see the varying views on what to eat from low-fat diets to low saturated fat to high carbohydrate diets.  Here are two articles that describe how research can be skewed and manipulated and cause a devastating health epidemic as seen in the US.

Modern Diet-Health Epidemiology: a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy? Part I

Modern Diet-Health Epidemiology: a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy? Part II

Sunnyvale Catalyst Athletics Nutrition Seminar

I went to a nutrition seminar last Saturday presented by Robb Wolf. Check out his website much good info on nutrition. (www.robbwolf.com) He has a PHD, in biochemistry specializing in fat metabolism.  The seminar focused on nutrition for crossfitters and the main objectives were to enhance health, performance, and longevity.  Some main points to take home from the seminar were to follow a zone paleolithic diet and stay away from gluten, legumes, and dairy.  A zone diet is one that is in proper proportions to keep your hormone at proper levels and a paleolithic diet is a "caveman" diet where all your foods come from whole natural foods that our ancient ancestors could have eaten.  These foods are lean meats (chicken, eggs, steak) for protein, most vegetable and fruits (broccoli, apples) and fat in the form of nuts and seeds (almonds, avocado, olive oil).  Here is a simple nutrition plan; eat meats, veggies, nuts, seeds, some fruit, little starch, and no sugar.  In a paleo diet, carbohydrates come from no starchy or refined carbs because these raise your insulin levels dramatically.  With consistently high levels of insulin, this has been shown to be the cause of many diseases form diabetes, obesity, and heart disease.  Insulin is the culprit of many of the American diseases and not FAT intake.  Eating all your carbs from veggies and fruits will significantly improve your health.  For all of you worried about saturated fat and cholesterol check out the article titled Meat, Global Warming an Markets in the meat consumption link under nutrition in the right side bar. This shows you do not need to worry when you eat grassfed meat in the paleo diet. Which brings me to the next "do not eat" item; gluten.  Gluten is mainly in wheat, spelt, rye, oats, and millet.  These are such things as oatmeal, pasta, bread, and pastries.  Robb wolf claims he has seen much improvement in health, performance and longevity in individuals who follow a gluten free diet which is also why you want to eat grassfed meat and not meat that is fed from grains.  Also abstaining from legumes could improve your health because both gluten and legumes can be toxic that brings about an immune response that affects sleep and recovery.  The last item in your diet is dairy.  Again it is something you should stay away from because of the linkage to raising insulin levels.

Now these are all things that you may want to try to incorporate into your diet and each affect everybody differently.  So see how it affects how you feel and your performance on workouts. I am going to not eat gluten for the month.  I will let you all know how it goes.