Essentially looking to get the following ideally at each meal:

75G protein

ad libitum fat, mostly from coconut oil

<20G Carb

Will eat within 30 minutes of waking and again around 7ish in the evenings.

Still gunning for 8 hours of sleep.

Training, will be focused on strength only with zero metabolic conditioning. Will be 3x per week, probably M/W/F, deadlifts, squats, bench, and strict press as per usual.

My body composition isn’t where it should be and I am gearing up to do some rather taxing endurance stuff so I want to get my body in order before doing that.

Today

Breakfast:

5 Eggs scrambled in pastured butter

Lunch:

black forrest ham, 35g protein

Dinner:

.5 lb pork shoulder

brussels sprouts

Training

Squats

5

3

1

Bench

5

3

1

Power Clean: 190lb (25lb PR)

Push Press: 135lb PR

Front Squat: 175lb x 3 PR

Pretty stoked about the power clean. I had actually failed on two attempts before I nailed the 190. I have some workouts to get on the blog from my paper log which I will get up here at some point. For the past two weeks I’ve been pretty strict paleo. I had convinced myself I was having issues with cortisol, lack of sleep and stress from work were weighing me down. On top of that I was finishing an intermittent fasting experiment which was probably contributing to a bit of adrenal fatigue and just had me generally feeling run down. I decided it was probably time to pay attention a bit more to my sleep and stress management which includes eating breakfast and getting enough food in day in and day out. That being said, my typical day at this point looks like this:

Breakfast: 6 scrambled eggs with salsa

Mid Morning Snack: 40-60g of protein via some sort of meat + almonds

Mid Afternoon Snack: 40-60G of protein via some sort of meal + almonds + 2 cups cooked spinach

Pre-Workout: 1 Scoop of Stronger Faster Healthier Endurance formula protein

Post-Workout: 1 Scoop of Stronger Faster Healthier post workout formula protein

Dinner: 60-80G of protein, usually steak, w/green veggies and some olive oil

Two things I’ve noticed that have improved my performance. One, I am eating more protein than I have been and feeling just generally better (more energy, better satiated). Secondly, I am not one to normally promote protein powders as they are generally pretty useless. Brian MacKenzie from Crossfit Endurance sold me on trying the products from SFH and I am very pleased with the results, you can check out his blog post at iamunscared.com. The formula is pure, from grass fed dairy, contains some creatine and other things that I am generally a proponent of. And, the most important thing is that it really seems to be working for the moment.

That being said, this week I’ve fizzled a bit. Work is out of hand at the moment and causing me all kinds of sleep deprivation. In the past I would have pushed through and continued my arduous training schedule, but I am slowly learning not to stress my body so darn much. I find if I dig myself into too deep a hole I almost always end up taking a step backwards in my training. If I’m not getting 8 hrs of sleep I’m not going to the gym 6 days a week and that’s just the way it has to be. Feels pretty liberating honestly for a gym rat like me.

Trying to be more Master Splinter and less Bee-Bop and Rock Steady.

So when I cheat, it usually involves dairy, legumes, AND corn, also known as crappy Mexican food. My wife and I hit a ton of Mexican over the weekend and the effects are reverberating all the way until today, which is Friday. Managed to also get a nice meal at a Steakhouse which was a plus. Drinks wise I was gluten-free mostly drinking cider with a few mixed drinks.

Back to normal this week, made a beef stew in a slow cooker with some grass-fed beef from a local farm share I buy from. Also hit my usual tuna, spinach, brussels sprouts etc…

Workouts were down this week only because we were out-of-town.

Wednesday:

Power Snatch 2-2-2-2-2

Went for 95-115-115-115-95

Felt pretty decent although I am pulling too quickly from the floor which causes me to lose hip drive. Need to work on that a bit.

Then

20 Squat Snatches at 65 / 30 Pistols / 40 chest to bar pull ups / 30 pistols / 20 Squat Snatches at 65

Went for 12:17

Have to say the pistols crushed me beyond belief and I am super sore today. Will be hitting a workout tonight that involves OHS so will have to work through the pain.

This weekend we’re hosting my parents to celebrate my Mom’s birthday, so I get to subject them to our paleo cooking. Also plan on hitting a WOD Saturday, but other than that, not much else.

One last note before I go, I’ve been using stronger faster healthier fish oil and so far I have loved it. The price is right, cheaper than Nordic Naturals, and my recovery has gotten slightly better since switching brands. Check them out if you are in the market for good high potency stuff. I am ordering the protein powder soon, I normally don’t do protein powders but these come highly recommended so I plan on experimenting.

Result: 10 – 10 – 5 strict

Then

12 Min AMRAP
5 Power Cleans (155)
10 Wall Ball

Result: 7 Rounds + 5 cleans

Result: 175

Then

“Randy” for time:
75 Power Cleans at #75

Result: 6:55

- Be consistent with logging workouts! There is nothing more useful and encouraging than knowing that you are getting stronger and faster over the long term.

- Being consistent with Paleo has reaped tremendous benefits. I was reintroduced to my abs in 2010, and it wouldn’t have been possible without dialing in my nutrition.

- The decision to start eating red meat and poultry again was probably the best decision I made health wise for 2010. I was able to life much heavier and actually lean down more by consuming more protein (1g per lb of LBM).

- As underrated as I thought a four year degree to be coming into the year, I am leaving realizing how necessary it actually is to advance into management levels in my career path. I’ve begrudgingly accepted this.

- Moving into the District proper has been a great experience. With that, changing Crossfit gyms isn’t as scary as I thought it to be.

Highlights of 2010:

-          315 lb Deadlift PR.

-          265 lb Back Squat.

-          6:00 1 Mile Run.

-          New job, new salary.

-          Moved into DC, and within blocks of great food, entertainment, culture, our jobs etc…

-          Read some really great books.

-          Got rid of our TV.

-          World Cup South Africa.

-          USA vs. Algeria.

-          My annual 2 day hiatus from work to play Fifa 11 into mindless oblivion.

-          Paleo going mainstream, people finally starting to get it.

-          My pseudo-paleo adult beverages, discovery of hard cider, Norcal Margarita.

-          Snowmageddon.

-          Vacationing: Miami, Key Largo, Key West, West Virginia, Las Vegas.

-          Plenty more but these are the memorable ones.

2011 Goals/Plans

-          Back to school. This is the year that kicks off the quest to finish my BA in History, and potentially a new career in academia at the end of the road.

-          400 lb Deadlift, 300 lb Back Squat, 5:30 1 mile run.

-          Play more: soccer, racquetball.

-          Vacationing: Kentucky, Memphis, Nashville.

-          Read 1 book per month at a minimum.

-          Will add more as I think of them throughout the month!

WOD: 10 Reps #155 Deadlift
15 Reps #55 DB Swings
12 Min Time Limit
Rounds: 7 + 5 DL’s

Finisher: 3 Rounds
15 Chest to Bar Pull Ups
50 Air Squats

Time: 5:35

4 Rounds + 8 Toes-To-Bar

Hands were screaming at me. I actually managed to get bloody on both hands last week and I’m still having problems healing these suckers so I’m not too disappointed. I know I could have gone faster had I been feeling groovy. Oh well, it’s not about what you could have done, just be satisfied with the effort you put forth. It was a good effort all in all.

And, I should just mention I haven’t been able to string together toes to bar before tonight. Thanks to a great coach for coaching me through the progression as part of the warm up and getting me comfortable with the movement. No more knees to elbows.