Recover me, I'm going IN!

Wish I had Wolverine's ability to heal myself, but I don't. Alas, I eat like a caveman instead, because that seems to be my best option.

6:30PM - 1 can of tuna (ingredients: tuna, water), 3 hard-boiled eggs, 1/2 avocado, steamed asparagus + spinach + carrots
9:15PM - 1lb. ground beef + mushrooms, raw spring mix, 1/2 avocado, ~1 tsp. olive oil, balsamic vinegar, steamed broccoli + horseradish

Just came across this quote by Robb Wolf, author of "The Paleo Solution," regarding recovery: "Eat a Zone favorable or other hormonally intelligent diet with predominantly antioxidant rich "Paleo" foods. Sleep 8–10 hrs per day in a completely dark room. Go to bed as early as possible. Laugh. Avoid excessive stress."


That, I will. I've been doing some research and finding other info that suggests an "isocaloric" diet for recovery (that means protein, carbs and fat at every meal). I think add some more colorful veggies to up the carbs a little bit. Stay tuned.

I've hit the wall.

First off, Sunday's meals:

4:45PM - 1/3 lb. 94/6 turkey, steamed broccoli and mushrooms in butter
7:00PM - 4 eggs + 1 chicken breast in coconut oil, steamed broccoli
9:15PM - 1/2 lb. 93/7 beef, raw spring mix + 1/2 an avocado

I had intended for this week to be a final heavy week before the first de-load, and I felt great warming up at the gym. I attempted 340 for my first set of squats, and to be completely honest I wasn't even close to getting it. Granted, we will all have strong days and weak days but I've been going extremely hard for 4 weeks and pushed it for 4-5 weeks before that. I also kept carbs at bay over the weekend, which definitely had some effect, but my gut feeling was, "this is no fluke." It's time to de-load now. Sometimes the most important thing is listening to your body, and mine finally told me to it was time to slow down. Since I was already at the gym, I wanted to give it one more go before the time off. After the miserable failure the workout looked like this:

• Low box squats
• 245 x 10
• 225 x 12
• 15-12-9-6-3 (minimize rest but untimed)
• GHD back extensions
• Deep leg press - machine + 3 plates each side
• Airdyne 60-50-40-30-20-10
• Forward pedals each leg
• Backward pedals each leg

Bummer.

I truly enjoy beating myself up at the gym, so it was frustrating to realize that I need some time off and I'm already excited to get after it again next week. With that said, I've never really taken time off "on purpose," i.e. pretty much every time I've been absent from the gym, I've also been a slob. I'm looking forward to treating my body properly - stretching, sleeping, and eating naturally. It's not going to be easy; I tend to eat shitty food out of boredom, which the gym helps with. But I'm ready for the challenge and I hope my performance coming away from this will reflect it.

Foodies from Monday:

7:00PM - 1/2lb. 99% FF turkey in coconut oil, steamed broccoli, 1/3 of a large can of pumpkin and 2 handfuls of frozen berries with some more coconut oil

8:30PM - 6 oz. grass-fed sirloin, raw spring mix, 3/4 of an avocado

10:00PM - 3 eggs + 5/4c. whites in olive oil, steamed Brussels sprouts and mixed greens

Grok would be proud of me.

Another strong Saturday / Egg KurtMuffins

As I mentioned, I had a short day at the gym yesterday. I got there  at quarter to 2, took my time warming up and got a full body stretch in before leaving, and I was still out of there by 2:30. The work period was 16 minutes on the rower. Hell of a workout. I improved my distance from 3600 two weeks ago to 3949. I'ma hit 4k next time!

3:30PM - 6 oz. wild Pacific salmon brushed with lemon juice and spices, broccoli steamed with herb butter
6:15PM: 1 chicken breast and 4 whole eggs cooked in coconut oil, more steamed broccoli with salsa
9:00PM: Raw spinach, 1/2 lb. ground beef, 1 small avocado and salsa

I feel like I'm finally hitting the stride I'd hoped for when starting this program - better late than never, I guess! No booze again this weekend and the high fat/protein meals were delicious and satiating enough to keep me from cheating (I also gave up peanut butter for "lent" and purposely left almond butter off the shopping list!)! It's now 4PM on Sunday and I have yet to break the fast, though I plan on it as soon as I'm done here.

I've been making extra meals for my family in effort to keep them away from grains and other processed shit. I know they will ultimately make their own decisions, but I can help them by making real food that's hot and ready. Last night I made beef and turkey meatballs in the crockpot with uncured bacon, and this morning, in addition to an apple-pepper hash that got average reviews, I whipped up a batch of "muffins":

I'm pretty proud of 'em so I'll share the recipe:

• Preheat oven to 350
• Chop and fry an ample amount of breakfast meat to about 2/3 to your liking - I used both pork and turkey bacon
• Beat eggs thoroughly and add any veggies you like - I used one large egg per muffin, but you may end up with more if you use lots of veggies...try 10 eggs per dozen muffins
• Fill lightly greased (coconut oil/olive oil/butter) muffin tins about 2/3 of the way 
• Ration meat and sprinkle a high quality cheese on top if you must
• Bake for 20 minutes
• "Frost" with mashed avocado and salsa (or Greek yogurt, perhaps???)

For you turds that are still adamant about eating breakfast, perhaps this can save you some time in the morning. You can make a whole batch on the weekend, refrigerate, and pop a couple in the microwave while you're rushing around before work. You've got plenty of time this afternoon, and it sure beats Cocoa Puffs!

Cliff notes from the last couple days

You may have noticed I haven't posted in a few days. This will happen occasionally; my busy week at work coupled with grocery shopping and doing my thing at the gym led to my lack of time to get busy on here. When this happens, I figure I'll still post workouts for my own tracking benefit, and just give you a quick description of meals and you can use your imagination. I suppose y'all may be getting bored of my meal pics because I often make the same things anyway. So on that note, I guess I'll make the executive decision to discontinue posting pictures of meals unless put together something elaborate.

Anyway, Wednesday was a full rest day so I kept my meals to mostly protein, fat, and veggies: salad with chicken and avocado; salad with canned tuna and bacon; turkey bacon omelette cooked in grass-fed butter. For dessert I had ~3Tbs. of almond butter mixed with a handful of unsalted pistaschios and half a scoop chocolate casein powder.

Thursday meathead session:

• Deadlifts (3:00 rest)
• 465 x 2
• 455 x 3
• 440 x 2 + 425 x 1
• 315 x 6 - for speed
• 225 x 8 - for speed
• Weighted chins (2:30 rest)
• BW + 80 x 2 + 1
• BW + 70 x 3 + 1
• BW + 60 x 4 + 1
• BW + 50 x 4 + 1
• EMOM 6
• Barbell rainbow with 45# plate - 4 reps each side
• 20" box stepups with two 45# KBs - 4 reps each side

Increased weight and decreased reps on deads = stalemate. Increased weight and pretty much maintained reps on chins = nice. Metcon killed forearms.

PWO: whey shake, sweet potato, frozen berries

Meal 1: chicken breast, white potato, greek yogurt, mixed veggies steamed with coconut oil and Frank's

Meal 2: 2c. eggwhites, 1c. pumpkin, 1 plantain, cinnamon, cocoa powder, all cooked in coconut oil

Freaky friday:

• Concentric-only bench press with red bands (3:00 rest)
• 185 x 4
• 205 x 3
• 225 x 2
• 235 x 1 x 2
• Incline press with 90# DB
• 7 + 1 + 10 clap pushups
• 5 + 1 + 10 clap pushups
• 1 set max dips - 26
• Metcon
• 10-8-6-4-2-4-6-8-10 pyramid pushups on med ball
• Straight leg situps with med ball - 10 reps on all rounds
• 10-20-30-40-50-40-30-20-10 double unders

Up 10# for final set on bench, increased weight for incline press, and increased reps for dips. All good things. Finished metcon in 8:38.

PWO: Whey shake, sweet potato with cinnamon

Meal 1: 6 oz. grass-fed sirloin in coconut oil with mushrooms and bell peppers, greek yogurt, steamed broccoli, 1 can of beets.

Meal 2: Salad with 1/2 lb. ground turkey fried with 2 strips of bacon, 1/2 avocado, lightly steamed broccoli with butter, salsa.

Today is Saturday. I already hit up some rowing and I ate a small meal at around 3:30. I making my meals smaller today so I can have 3-4 spread over a longer time. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get back in the "posting legit info" game. Until then, cheers!

Over the head > down the hatch

5:15PM, on a Tuesday:

• Strict press (3:00 rest)
• 170 x 2 + 1
• 160 x 3 + 1
• 150 x 4 + 1
• 140 x 6 + 1
• Ring dips (wide)
• 21
• 16
• 12
• Metcon - Descending/Ascending
• Ring pushups - 10>1
• Ab wheel rollout - 1>10

I increased all the press sets from last time by 5lbs. and did exactly the same number of reps for each. Boom! Ring dips were a little tougher because I accidentally hung them wider than usual and didn't care to take the time to fix them. It can't hurt to work the muscles a little differently (well it can, but not in this instance), but it's hard to measure progress if you're switching up variables. If you've been following daily you have probably noticed that I changed a few things this time through the 2-week cycle; it's not ideal but I'm learning what works better for me and that will be beneficial in the future. I prefer the rings a little closer, so I'll return to that next time. The metcon was difficult, not really from a cardiovascular standpoint but more so because of muscle fatigue. I minimized rest and finished in 4:48 --- see if you can beat me!

I did the whey shake thang on the way home but it was a late one and I was pretty excited for food. Maybe even more than usual.

7:00 - Sweet tater with cinnamon.

7:40 - Carrots, mushrooms, red bell pepper, tomatoes, broccoli, and kale sauteed in lots of coconut oil, to which I added 1 large grilled chicken breast.

 9:45: Raw butter lettuce, celery, and orange bell peppers dressed with half of an avocado and salsa, topped with 1/2lb. ground beef and sauteed spinach.

Passed out right after this. I was on my feet a lot at work today and was hungry in the afternoon for the first time in a while. Good thing it's a rest day! I've already had meal one, but you'll have to check back tomorrow for the deets. ORANGE.

Week 4, day 1

I took BCAAs at 4:15 and trained 18+ hours fasted.

• Below-parallel concentric only squats + red bands (3:00 rest)
• 185 x 3
• 205 x 2
• 235 x 1
• 255 x 1 x 4
• 225# front squat - 10" box (3:00 rest)
• 5 + 1
• 4 + 1
• 3 + 1
• Metcon - 5 rounds
• 5 towel pullups
• 10 wall-ball shots (18# med ball to 10' target)
• 15 KB swings (45#)
• 20 double-unders

The squats were a little tougher today because I tightened the bands from last time. Hard to measure progress but I'll do it the same way next time. My wrists were a little sore from all the cleans Friday night so I decided to do 3 sets of front squat to max reps at 225. It felt lie a better workout so I'll keep that the same next time as well. The metcon was fun, but my legs and my lungs were screaming for oxygen. I finished in exactly 9:00.

In other news, I found a $10 bill on the floor of the gym after my workout. Being the honest gentleman I am, I asked if anyone had asked about lost money. They said nobody had. I was fully ready to go buy a nice grass-fed sirloin with it, but just as I was leaving the locker room I heard a man ask at the desk if anyone had by any chance returned $10. It felt good giving the money back to him even though it meant having chicken for dinner again. He was legitimately grateful and surprised that someone would have the courtesy to even ask about 10 bucks - it's a shame that there are so few people out there who would. In my opinion, respect and a good steak belong in the same category: "better when you earn it."

Anyway, I had a whey shake on the way home at 5:45, and I finally snapped a pic of the PWO potato:

 6:15PM - 1 white potato (no skin), microwaved and quartered, topped with a dollop of greek yogurt, Frank's, cayenne pepper, and black pepper.

 7:15PM - (Left): 2 cups egg whites cooked in coconut oil, mixed with a large sweet potato, a large banana, cinnamon, cocoa powder, and a scoop of apple butter. (Right): Steamed cauliflower and red bell pepper with Frank's.

9:15PM - Buffalo-steamed (butter and Frank's - loving that stuff) broccoli, mushrooms, and tomatoes topped with 1 large chicken breast and drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I had a can of beets (not pictured) and that apple for dessert.

I did my 6 x 400m running intervals this morning. I decreased the rest from 3 minutes to 2, and also jacked the speed up to 11mph for the first 3, and finished up at 11.2, 11.4, 11.6. I'm very happy with the improvement. We'll see if I can man up on the press the same way this afternoon. Git 'er done.

Monday update!

Got a couple days to chronicle here so bear with me. I took my preworkout BCAAs after a 16+ hour fast around 2:30 on Saturday.

• Flat bench press (2:30 rest)
• 260 x 1.5 + 1.5
• 245 x 3 + 1
• 230 x 5 + 1
• 215 x 7 + 1
• Strict handstand pushups to failure (2:00 rest)
• 12, 6, 5
• Metcon - 4 rounds
• 500m row
• Rest 1 min
• 1 min max pushups
• Rest 1 min

Bench was good - I increased 5 lbs on all sets and did pretty much the same number of reps as I did 2 weeks ago. HSPU numbers are a little lower than last time (and quite a bit lower than my goal of 20, 15, 10), but I'll attribute that to less rest between exercises (wasn't try'na stay all afternoon on a Saturday). The metcon was brutal! That minute of pushups smack-dab in the middle of the rest period made the rest seem non-existent. Nevertheless, I gave that little extra push in the 4th round and, in my own opinion, conquered. Times and pushup reps: 1:40/44, 1:45/36, 1:50/32, 1:49/33.

Had a whey shake on the way home and made my first meal on-the-hop, as I had already done the prep-work. 

4:30PM - Steamed kale and broccoli topped with ~8oz. shredded turkey breast and Frank's; 2 sweet potatoes worth of fries and some chopped bell peppers - coated with coconut oil and baked; dipping sauce of plain Greek yogurt and Frank's.

7:30PM - Vitamins + raw salad with spinach, spring mix, bell peppers, and carrots topped with olive oil and balsamic vinegar; I sauteed 1 large chicken breast (~8 oz.), a handful of mushrooms, and 6 Brussels sprouts in grass-fed herb butter and threw it on top.

First Saturday without drinking in a while! I felt good on Sunday morning, with no urge to eat shitty food like I usually do. I felt fine fasting into the mid-afternoon, but I purposely planned 3 meals so I could extend my eating window a couple hours.

3:45PM - ~4 oz. turkey, 3 eggs, bell peppers, and mushrooms cooked in grass-fed butter, tossed with some steamed broccoli and spicy brown mustard.

 6:15PM - Vitamins +  butter lettuce topped with 1/2 lb. sauteed grass-fed ground beef mixed with steamed cauliflower, red bell peppers, and Frank's.

8:30PM - Sauteed asparagus and mushrooms in herb butter mixed with the rest of the turkey breast (~4 oz.); 3 hard boiled eggs with a dash of salt-free mustard.

I followed the final meal with 2 massive spoonfuls of almond butter mixed with 1/2 a scoop of vanilla protein powder (whey/casein blend). I estimate around 2500 calories total, which is probably a little high for a rest day but nothing to worry about. My intake Saturday was pretty low because I just wasn't hungry in the evening (what???), so calories are a non-issue. The relatively high pro-inflammatory omega-6 content is the only negative...small price to pay for how freakin' good that shit is! I think I'm still holding some water from all the potatoes I've been eating but I'm not the least bit worried. I feel a lot better than usual on Monday mornings. Gonna be a good week!

168 pounds of fury.

Train dirty...with cleans.

Greek God Pyrros Dimas clean and jerks some baby weight.

Friday night madness with my man Chad:

• Squat cleans (3:00 rest)
• 135 x 3 --> 135 x 3 hang clean
• 185 x 3
• 205 x 2
• 225 x 1
• 245 x 1
• 255 x 1 (spotter help on front squat portion)
• T-bar row -  Five 45# plates / max strict pullup SS (2:30 rest)
• 9 / 7 
• 7 / 5 + 1/2
• 8 / 5
• Metcon - read about it

I literally came within inches of tying a PR in the squat clean. Two weeks ago I struggled at 245 and last night it didn't feel too tough, so that's good. With 255 I got caught in the bottom of the front squat and needed a little push from Chad to get past the sticking point. I added 20 pounds to the T-bar row and maxed out around the same number of reps for my sets, but I did a few less pullups. No biggie. I absolutely loved the metcon. I started with "Death by 135# squat clean." "Death by         " means start the clock and complete 1 rep in the first minute, 2 in the second, etc. until you fail to complete. I successfully got to 8 reps but only completed 7 in the ninth minute. I took a 2 minute break during which I added another plate to each side, and then I reversed the pyramid with deadlifts on the minute. After 4 I just banged out the final 6 instead of waiting out 3, 2, 1 (8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 6). The whole thing took me 16:20 and I was gassed.

I had a whey shake and a white potato with some Frank's and a dollop of greek yogurt at 6:40. And then...

7:45 - 1 large chicken breast cooked in coconut oil, on top of steamed kale, broccoli, and asparagus with some Frank's; 3 mashed sweet potatoes with cinnamon and greek yogurt.

9:30 - My best egg white pancake yet, plus vitamins. See recipe below.

• Preheat oven to 350
• Beat 2 cups of egg whites with a pinch of cream of tartar, 1 Tbs. of unsweetened baking powder, and 1/4 tsp. each of cinnamon and nutmeg, until stiff peaks form
• Coat a large frying pan with coconut oil and pour mixture in
• Bake for 12-14 minutes
• Topping: get creative. I mixed used 2 cups of butternut squash, a small banana, a handful of blueberries, a large spoonful of greek yogurt, and a Tbs. of apple butter.
• Place a plate on top of the frying pan and flip. The "pancake" should pop right out.
• Spread topping and scarf.

I passed out at 11. Dreamed about eating bad food and woke up happy it wasn't real! I decided on account of snow that I'm going to include my rowing in the metcon today so I only have to go to the gym once. Gonna hit that shit now. Later gators.

Get dynamic.

Since yesterday was a rest day I'll take up a little space to talk about the warm-up. In my experience, the majority of gym-goers don't do much pre-workout prep as it is, but I have noticed several people reaching for their toes before taking over the squat rack for some heavy shrugs and bicep curls. That example is silly in more ways than one, and I could keep myself occupied for hours discussing all the ways I see people hindering progress/wasting time at the gym, but today I'm just gonna focus on proving that static stretching prior to working out is for chumps. Let's get to it.

We've all heard it before: Stretch before exercise! The problem with most people is they do without ever bothering to find out why. I try not to be so pretentious in person, but in a few cases I've asked familiar folk why he or is standing around the lat pull-down machine pulling an elbow behind his head. Typically, he wants to "loosen up" so he doesn't hurt himself going for an 8-rep max. Sure, static stretching can improve flexibility and range-of motion, but even so it's best done after your workout or before bed (if ROM is a true issue for you, check out PNF stretching). This kind of stretching before your workout is not only counter-productive - but potentially harmful.

The human body is stubborn. We are congenital creatures of habit with literally millions of mechanisms working to maintain homeostasis, which is extremely beneficial in most cases but can be detrimental in the wrong circumstance. In the belly of every muscle, we have sensory receptors called muscle spindles that primarily detect changes in muscle length and the speed of that change. At the most basic level, stretching a muscle causes the spindles to sense potential injury, so they relay a protective message to compensate and shorten through the spinal cord (not the brain, so you have no "choice" in the matter). This mechanism, known as the "stretch-shorten" reflex, can protect against a quick, unexpected stretch (like when you roll your ankle). 

Stretching for 10-15 seconds (most common prep that I see) causes the muscle spindle to sense a prolonged risk of injury and signals the muscle to shorten at first chance, i.e. your muscle cowers like a scared puppy even after you've left the room. Releasing the stretch at this point ultimately results in a tighter muscle, decreasing the ability to move quickly and freely and increasing the likelihood of injury. So that's out.

Much like a rubber band, the longer your muscles are subjected to stretch the more accustomed they become to their new length. Beyond 15 seconds or so, the muscle spindles habituate and reduce the signal to shorten (I told you we're stubborn!). So, if you stretch for long enough, you'll reach your goal of  loosening up! But do you really want to go into exercise with droopy old rubber bands for muscles? Consider this example:

You've stretched your hamstrings extensively before your 100-meter race. In your normal anatomical position your muscles sit at their normal length, but now they are "loose" rather than taut. Every time you stride your front hamstring lengthens, but instead of sending the message to return to it's proper length through the spinal cord and "springing" you forward, your muscle is fine with the length. Now the signal to shorten must travel to the brain, where you must consciously decide that's the action you want and send the signal on the long road back to your hamstring. Read: every stride takes longer. Still, you are naturally faster than your opponent and the race is nose-to-nose despite your second-rate warm-up. On the last stride you extend as hard as you can to inch ahead, and your loose muscle stretches beyond "the point of no return." By the time the protective signal kicks in, it's too late; your foot lands too far in front of you and the landing force tears your muscle right off the bone. Silly you.

Probably shouldn't have stretched...

So I hope that clears things up: static stretching before your workout can decrease your ability protect yourself from injury and your performance. I think that proves my point; If you want to get hurt while you're being bad at stuff, you're absolutely a chump. But how do you warm-up without "stretching"? Enter: the dynamic warmup - any combination of hops, skips, runs, ballistic stretches and other exercise or sport-specific actions that increases your heart rate and involves active musculature. The main goals before exercise are to: increase blood flow and nutrients to the appendages, and stimulate the central nervous system so you can actually take advantage of muscle spindle activity. Simply moving around accomplishes both much better than stretching can. I've already touched upon a few of the components of "muscle memory," and that term applies here too. By including specific movements, you not only improve coordination for the exercises to follow, but you prime the reflexive pathway and allow signals to move through at faster rate making your actions quick and powerful.

The dynamic warm-up should last about 10-15 minutes and be be specific if you have performance goals - it's a great time to get right with the agility ladder or your clean and jerk technique. For the average individual who just wants to improve their health and well-being, the dynamic warm-up ought to be enjoyable, and can be as basic as simply jumping rope and throwing in pushups and power skips. I could provide more suggestions but it'll serve you to just Google "dynamic warm-up." You'll find a million of 'em.

"Halftime show? No I was just doing my dynamic warmup."

Now on to me. I enjoyed two fatty feasts yesterday. These were they doozies; I was legitimately sad when it was all over.

6:20PM - 1 chicken breast (~8 oz.), 8 whole  eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms, and peppers all sauteed in coconut oil; spinach and broccoli steamed Buffalo style (with grass-fed butter and Frank's); raw spinach as a garnish.

8:40PM - 1/2 lb. 93/7 grass-fed ground beef and two strips of  turkey bacon; peppers and spinach sauteed in the rendered fat; raw spring mix tossed with half of an avocado and some salsa. I kept adding raw spring mix until the beef mixture was gone.

Back to the gym and the starch this afternoon, and two workouts tomorrow (on a Saturday, am I crazy???). I'm anxious to see how the diet holds up over the weekend.

"Please don't let the pizza monster get me!!!"

All business.

• Jerk (3:00 rest)
• 155 x 3
• 195 x 2
• 225 x 1
• 245 x 1
• 255 x 1
• 265 x fail :(
• Weighted dip (BW + 110 - 2:30 rest)
• 8, 6, 6
• Metcon - For time
• 8-1 descending strict BW pullup
• 1-8 ascending strict KB press (2 x 35#)

I jerked the same weight as last time, so I'll assume you know how I feel about that.

I added 5 lbs. to the weighted dips and banged out a couple extra reps but I'm not sure of my body weight at this point. Either way, I'm getting toward the heaviest available dumbbell (125) so that's a little bit of an ego boost. The metcon had me breathing heavily without a lot of movement; I'll credit that to prefatigue. I set a goal about half-way through to finish it in 5 minutes but the end took a bit longer and I completed the series in 5:21. If I tried this fresh I could probably finish it in 3:30 or so. Perhaps I'll try that sometime.

PWO was whey and a potato again (this time with a little salsa) at about 6:20. Citing an overabundance of leafy greens in the fridge, I had two monster salads for my meals.

7:30 - 1/2 lb. 93/7 ground beef cooked in coconut oil, ~2 cups butter nut squash, steamed broccoli and kale, Frank's Red Hot. I added a little too much hot sauce and ended up throwing in about 2 cups of spring mix to dull the flavor.

9:40 - ~8oz. chicken breast with tomatoes and mushrooms cooked in coconut oil, 1 can of raw beets, raw orange pepper, spinach and spring mix, 1/2 avocado and chipotle salsa. This was one of the best salads I've had in a while.

Following the starch-laden PWO snack, I emphasized protein and maintained a balance of fat and carbs. Took my vitamins with the second meal as usual. I was really full from all the fat and fiber, and fell asleep in 2 minutes flat. Woke up feeling very refreshed, and I can't wait to pound some egg yolks today.

Comebacker

Hey folks, I'm back. I took a well-needed day off to theorize about what causes my binging. This was not self-pity, rather a true attempt to explain the madness and formulate a plan to fix it. My mom thinks it is a result of "depriving myself" from things I love during the week. That may be partially true; I do love me some cereal, pizza, ice cream, etc., but I honestly don't ever have cravings for or even miss those things during the workweek. For me, it's empowering to eat the right things; this is especially true on workout days, when I feel I have a chance to "super-win" the day. So why, then, do I tend to lose it in such great magnitudes every weekend???

You've probably heard that the body can become addicted to carbohydrates, or that low-carb dieting can make one depressed. Those things can be true via "addiction" to serotonin synthesis in the brain. Serotonin, which is widely believed to evoke feelings of happiness and well-being, is unlike any other neurotransmitter in that its synthesis is dependent on non-fructose carbohydrate ingestion and the resulting insulin release from the pancreas. Insulin allows the amino acid tryptophan to enter the brain, and serotonin is derived from tryptophan and synthesized there. Put simply, eating carbs makes one temporarily happy, and that's why people "eat their feelings." I know this is true for me, personally; once I break "routine" and eat some crap I'm not supposed to (side note: processed foods generally cause a greater insulin release and therefore, increased serotonin synthesis), I just embrace it keep going even though I know I'm going to regret it later. The cycle goes like this:

Eat things that I know are bad for me > temporary happiness > regret and crave happiness > eat good > feel empowered > weekend comes > get bored and crave serotonin-induced happiness > repeat.

I have long known of this relationship and it's dramatic effect on me personally, and it is a major reason why most people fail to adhere to a low-carb way of eating the long-run. In the roughly two years since I became carb-conscious, there are only a handful of weekends which I've been able to avoid eating out of moderation. Pretty strict Monday-Friday adherence got me a lot leaner and healthier, but not as lean and healthy as I want to be. When I thought up this program a month ago, I'd pretty much maintained for a year and a half, and I felt ready to take it to the next step. The knowledge was there, it was just a matter of putting it into practice. So I thought, maybe I should try eating more carbs (of the unprocessed, starchy veg variety) on my workout days when my body is equipped to use glucose for good rather than store it in adipose tissue, thus inducing serotonin synthesis and that feeling of well-being more often without having to eat 8000 calories worth of garbage on Sundays (and store it!). Right on.

In theory, I had it figured out, but I screwed up in practice by severely underestimating calorie intake. I picked a few sample days from the past 2 weeks where food seemed abundant, and calculated calorie intake. I swear to you, I WAS FULL, but the short eating window kept me consistently under 2000 calories, even on my workout days. That's probably about 600-800 too low, depending on the day. I've been eating more carbs than I was used to on workout days, but still way too few while keeping fat to a minimum. Not only have I not been synthesizing serotonin at the theorized rate, but by Friday/Saturday my body has been starved for energy. I think being so used to fasting caused me not to realize until I was bored. Will-power grows weak under those conditions, and I've got to figure that to be a major contributor to my poor adherence on the past two Sundays.

So here's my plan to remedy. First off, I'm going back to whey for my PWO protein and substituting the fructose-heavy fruit with a white potato - reason being: greater insulin/serotonin response. I still don't want to measure my food - like I've continually said, this is a life-long thing and I don't plan on being the 50 year old guy who carries a food scale around - but I've just got to eat more calories during the week. I'm still an advocate of fat as the primary human fuel, so I'm only going to increase carbs (beyond what I've been eating for the last 2 weeks) on two days each week. On the first of two consecutive workout days, I'm going to eat less fibrous veggies and more starchy ones with my two meals and also add Greek yogurt to the mix (never had an issue with dairy, so why restrict?). On the second workout day I'll eat a moderate amount of carbs from greens and medium-carb veggies like squash, pumpkin, carrots, and beets, and I'll bump the calories with a little extra fat. On non-workout days I'll continue to eat mostly fat and protein, with 30-60g of carbs from greens with a little wiggle room for a "treat." Rather than bypassing healthy meals and by stuffing my face with shit, I'm intending to eat my normal meals first and allow myself a a 400-or-so calorie buffer if I need it. I've made plans before and always broke them eventually but I've never really tried "carb cycling" or a "cheat treat" every third day, so here goes nothing!

Anyway, I got back on track yesterday. BCAAs preworkout, per ushe.

• Low box squat (3:00 rest)
• 335 x 1 + 2 (soooo close to getting 2 on my own)
• 310 x 3 + 1
• 295 x 4 + 1 
• 280 x 5 + 1
• Romanian deadlift (2:30 rest)
• 225 x 12
• 255 x 9
• 285 x 6
• Metcon - AMRAP 8
• 10 lunges each leg holding a 45# plate overhead
• 40 side-to-side line jumps
• 20 accordion situps

I was a little disappointed in the squat weights; granted 335 was my max 3 weeks ago, but I feel like I could have completed 2 reps then so there's no real progress there. But again, I haven't quite stuck to the diet plan. If I bare down hopefully I still have time to improve that number with some significance. I was able to up the RDL weights pretty significantly from a couple weeks back, so there's a definite plus. Metcon was tough on the legs after I'd already worked them, so the lunges became the bottleneck - though I only rested about 30 seconds total out of the 8 minutes and I came up 10 accordions short of 5 full rounds. Overall, I can't be too upset with this workout, but I definitely want to fuck squats UP next time.

I had about 25g of whey protein and a large potato with pepper, Frank's Red Hot, and a dollop of plain Greek yogurt to break the fast at about 6:40. I could barely wait to eat again so the presentation was a little weak but these meals filled me up nicely.

7:20PM - ~6 oz. swordfish steak sauteed in coconut oil, steamed asparagus, 6 steamed cherry tomatoes, raw spring mix, Frank's; 3 steamed sweet potatoes, 2 handfuls of berries, cinnamon. Topped both plates with Greek yogurt (~1c. total).

9:15PM - 2c. egg whites, ~2c. butternut squash, 1 large banana, cocoa powder, all scrambled together in coconut oil.

I felt extremely satisfied (read: expanded), and slept great. I hit the gym this morning for 16 minutes of CHI on the treadmill. Two weeks ago I maintained 6mph and 6% grade for 15 and bumped up to 7mph for the final minute; this week I pushed it at 6.2 for speed and grade and sped up to 7.2 for the final minute. Making moves! I just got home from workout #2 but you'll have to check back tomorrow for the results. Adios!

Monday morning wantSunday-back

 4:45PM - Started things off with an "ocho" - 8 egg omelette cooked in coconut oil with 4-5 oz. of turkey breast; steamed broccoli topped with some more coconut oil.

9:00PM - Salad with 1/2 lb. ground turkey, 1/2 avocado, carrots, and celery. Followed up with a couple scoops of almond butter.

I had a few adult sodas on Saturday night and did some late-night snacking. I didn't eat great yesterday either and I'm paying the price today. No progress pics this week because there is no progress; I look pretty much the same as last week. I won't lie - I'm a little frustrated. I'm taking a day off from lifting/blogging, etc. to re-evaluate some things. There will be no changes to the training routine, except that the weight sessions will be pushed back a day, but I may have to tweak the weekly diet a bit in attempt to overcome my psychological need to binge every Sunday. Stay tuned.

Friday feast mode

I'm almost always happy to greet the weekend, but some Friday's I leave work feeling like I just made parole. Yesterday was one of those. I hit the gym for some bench presses before heading home, and somehow I have a feeling a  few recently-freed criminals have pulled that same move.

• Concentric-only bench press with bands:
• 135 x 3
• 185 x 3
• 205 x 2
• 225 x 1 x 3
• Incline dumbbell press
• 85s x 9 + 1 followed immediately by 10 clapping pushups
• 85s x 7 + 1 followed immediately by 10 clapping pushups
• 1 set of dips to max: 20 reps
• Metcon: EMOM (cap at 12) - made it all 12 rounds
• 3 reps of fat bar bench press at 155#
• 25 double unders

I got exactly what I wanted from this workout. I've had a pretty tough week in the gym and the concentric bench worked the largest motor units without actually causing my body to feel "tired." Any weightlifter knows that upper body days are cake! I worked both DB press sets to failure, which made the subsequent clapping pushups more difficult than I'd anticipated. The second set I had to break it up into 5, 3, and 2 or else I probably would have hurt myself. I did the dips on a whim. I surprised myself with the metcon; I figured to fail on the bench somewhere between 8-10 minutes but I was able to push through all 12 rounds, and even did 100 double unders instead of 25 to finish out the last minute. I take pride in the fact that I didn't miss a single DU the whole time through.

I forgot to bring a PWO snack so I rushed home to my 1/4 lb. turkey breast and a nectarine. I'm sure you're pretty familiar with my M.O. by now, so you know that an hour later, things got serious.

7:15 PM - 1/2 lb. ground turkey; 1 can of beets, 4 cups of spinach (steamed); 2 1/2 sweet potatoes made into fries with coconut oil; tomato-balsamic dipping sauce.

I had a small apple in between meals.

9:10PM - Sorry this picture sucks but the big plate has a baked pork chop and some steamed broccoli with Frank's on both. In the bowl is 6 egg whites cooked in coconut oil and mixed with a can of pumpkin, 1/2 a banana, ~2Tbs. apple butter, some cinnamon and cocoa powder.

That pumpkin makes me extremely full, and I love it. I watched some TV and fell asleep around 11:15. I didn't set an alarm and woke up at 10...must've needed some extra shut-eye. I haven't yet decided whether I'll go to the gym today or just do some stretching and light calisthenics at home, but one thing is for sure: I better steer clear of the peanut butter!!!

Dead lift like a boss

Happy Friday, everyone! Now that I'm a nerdy conformist to the age of social media, I occasionally find myself posting pertinent info on facebook. In cases like those, some of you may see it and some may not. A couple people commented on my link to yesterday's post and I just wanted to share a couple things I posted there this morning.

This first one has direct relevance to yesterday's post. Looking back I realize that I didn't really offer a conclusion about how I think peanuts, as well as tree nuts/almonds/etc. should fit into an every day way-of-eating, so thank you to those who commented. Here's my take, in as few bullet points as possible.

• Macronutrient ratios vary from species to species but all contain a majority of calories from fat, split into SFAs (fine), MUFAs (good), and PUFAs (n-6:n-3 ratio is important).
• With the exception of walnuts (~2.5g n-3/oz.), none contain significant omega-3s.
• With the exception of macadamia nuts (~.36g n-6/oz), all contain significant omega-6s. Mac nuts contain virtually 0 n-3.
• Even though walnuts have n-3, they have about 10g/oz. of n-6, giving us roughly a 4:1 ratio, which is still the high end of what we're going for.
• Home-made/varieties made with only raw ground nuts don't change the fact that "nuts" have unfavorable ratios and are generally inflammatory.
• With all that said, they are not evil. Fine for daily use as a condiment (sprinkle walnuts on a salad, smear some almond butter on an apple), occasional use as a snack (hand or spoonful), and never as a meal (do as I say, not what I do).

Sensible.                                                                    Not sensible.

The second topic addressed The China Study by Drs. Colin and Thomas Campbell. This book has emerged over the last couple years as one of the "big guns" in the war against eating animal products by discussing the incidence of disease in vegetarians/vegans vs. those who eat meat. That's not a debate I'm prepared to enter, but these two comments best illustrate where I stand on that:

• i'm sad to say i've only read the cliff-notes of that one. from what i can gather though, comparisons of a plant-based diet to an "evolutionary" style diet with the absence of grains are lacking. everything we eat (and do/don't do/etc.) works in a synergistic manner in the development of disease, and it's obvious that vegetarians/vegans are a "more careful" population than meat-eaters as a whole. the control group eliminates nothing, so i'm not surprised at the author's "scientific findings." i don't claim to be an expert, but i don't have to be a scientist to be a critical thinker. i have done plenty of research and in my opinion:
• big mac < vegetarian big mac with all the fixins < fresh veggie sandwich on whole grain bread <toss-up> mcd's patties and veggies without the bun and sauce < grass-fed beef and fresh produce.
• to prove my objectiveness, it's the same thing with the whole "paleo" propaganda. meat, dairy, vegetable oils (including olive oil, but there are numerous other benefits that outweigh) and grains are all inflammatory in their own right. fish and vegetables are generally anti-inflammatory. by eliminating foods that cause inflammation, of course you're going to see improvement over the general population. people just have trouble thinking for themselves so most just eat everything. the extent of my education leads me to believe a caveman-esque way of eating is the best/easiest to implement, so that's what i advocate on my page. i don't think all vegetarians/vegans are "wrong;" people have different reasons for all habits. 

Here's my official disclaimer: Make light of my occasional air of haughtiness; what you read here are really just my opinions based on the science I've read. You may or may not agree with everything I say, but that's the beauty of free-thinking! Whether you realize it or not, we are all researching and experimenting every day in attempt to reach our inherent goal of living as happily and healthfully as possible. I hope you all get there on whatever path you choose. Ok, I'm getting a little too emo for my own good here, so that's all I have to say about that!

And to think I've always hated cats...

Anyway...I was really looking forward to deadlift because a.) it's my strongest exercise, and b.) it is pure, unadulterated beast mode. If you do not do deadlifts in some capacity on a regular basis, do not complain that you are weak and not at all boss-like. Lifting heavy shit tugs on both my mus-cles, and my primal heart-strings. 

THURSDAY:

• Barbell deadlift RPT
• 3 x 455
• 4 x 435
• 5 x 415
• 6 x 405
• Weighted chinup RPT
• BW + 75 x 2 + 1
• BW + 55 x 3 + 1
• BW + 35 x 5 + 2 (just missed 6th rep on my own so went for a second assisted)
• BW + 25 x 6 + 1
• Metcon - 5 rounds in 4:17
• 6 supine body rows
• 8 lunge jumps-each leg
• 10 overhead KB swings (45#)

I was shooting for 2-3 deadlifts at 455, so I was pretty happy to pull it thrice. The final rep of each set was extremely taxing so I'm confident that I picked appropriate weights. Weighted chinups went well also, despite my feeling worn-out already. Those are tiring, but in a different, ass-sparing way, which allowed the post-deadlift "might take a major spill if I try walking" feeling to subside a bit. I feel good about the numbers and they're only going to go up. The RPTs take a while so I purposely programmed a short metcon. It doesn't look like much but I completed all 5 rounds with virtually no rest, and toward the end I was really working. A major reason I've set up the workouts this way is to prefatigue the muscles and make the metcons more metabolically demanding with less work; even still, it took me less than 4 and a half minutes to feel totally beat. It just goes to show how "I don't have time to workout" is just such a bullshit excuse.

I opted for post-workout turkey breast again but got my little dose of carbs from a couple handfuls of berries at around 6:15. About an hour later I had my first meal.

7:15PM - 1/2 lb. ground turkey and tomatoes cooked in coconut oil and mixed with steamed broccoli and splashes of balsamic and Frank's; two sweet potatoes and 1/2 a banana mashed with cinnamon.

8:45PM - I think I'm starting to perfect this whole egg pancake thing. This time I  mixed some cinnamon and cocoa powder in half way through whipping 2 cups of egg whites with a sprinkle of cream of tartar. I coated a pan with coconut oil and baked the mixture for 15 minutes at 350*F. The topping is a can of pumpkin puree, 1/2 a mashed banana, and another handful of blueberries.

My belly was so full after this and I was asleep in about 10 minutes. I had some really strange dreams but all-in-all it was a restful night. I woke up at 7 to hit the gym for a nice rowing sesh. I was able to keep a rather continuous pace for 16 minutes and wound up covering just over 3500m in that time. I wasn't breathing too heavily until I picked it up at the end but my muscles were very tired from last night's workout. I'm glad I didn't push it to the limit; I may not have experienced quite a cardiovascular shock, but I was able to get some blood flowing and initiate some active recovery. I'll go easy on the legs and back tonight, and do some light activity over the weekend to I can be ready for RPT squats Monday afternoon. 

And with that, it's time to hit the road. I probably won't be posting anything educational this weekend, but shoot me some ideas anyway and I'll see what I can muster next week. Go get 'em.

The truth about peanut butter.

Before I get into it today, I just want mention two things: 1.) Hell yeah, 'Cuse hoopse! and 2.) I decided to move my 2nd cardio session of the week to Friday morning in order to approach deadlifts with fresh legs this afternoon. Life goes on. Yesterday was a rest day, and as you can see I did some work on dietary fat.

5:30PM - Oops! broke the fast before I remembered to take a picture. Three-meat chili omelette made with 4 eggs and fried in coconut oil; steamed broccoli.

8:00PM - A small salad with ~9 oz. grilled chicken breast, the rest of my pork loin from Saturday, tomatoes, cucumbers half of an avocado, ~1Tbs. olive oil, and splashes of balsamic vinegar and Frank's Red hot.

My body was still craving fat after these two meals and I went on one of my "search, seize, and slam" missions. I followed up with three strips of bacon and a handful of almonds. Should have stopped there. I tapped into the peanut butter jar against my better judgment, and things got a slightly out of control as usual. The 16oz. jar was about 50% full when I got to it, and 0% full after I had my way with it; you do the math.

Put the gross amount aside, and you may be thinking, "but I thought peanuts were supposed to be good for you." And that's partially true, I guess. Peanuts and peanut butter contain some vitamins and minerals and they're pretty low in carbohydrates (~3g net and 2.5g fiber/oz). Also on the plus side, peanuts contain a decent amount of protein (~7g/oz). Despite the relatively high fat content (~14g/oz.) and the general population's irrational fear of such things, most people understand that humans "need some fat to live" and peanuts contain "good fat" so they are given a pass.

So to recap: peanuts are high in fat, moderately high in protein, and moderately low in carbs. Seems consistent with "rest day" goals, no? Well, eating a butt-load of peanuts is certainly better than eating an equally caloric butt-load of jellybeans. In truth, peanuts are a lot better than most things you'll find in the average American pantry, especially from a macronutrient standpoint. But macros are like a chick in a bikini: they show a lot, but not everything!

Not only is peanut butter full of healthy fat; it also prevents wrinkles.

Let's start with protein, because this number probably hides the least amount of info. The building blocks of proteins are called amino acids. There are 20 different amino acids, and they link together in varying sequences to make different proteins. Of these 20, nine are essential to human function, and a "complete" or "whole" protein is one that contains these nine EAAs in adequate proportions. While proteins derived from animal products are generally complete (with the one exception being gelatin), plant-based proteins tend to be lacking in one or more of the essentials, and thus need to be "complimented" by other proteins to fulfill human dietary needs. Peanuts are no exception and contain unfavorable proportions of EAAs. The-take home message is this: animal protein > plant protein.
***As you will see, most varieties of peanuts and peanut butter also contain added sugar and/or fat. An ounce is an ounce, and simple mass balancing tells us that whatever you add, you must lose of raw ingredient. The result here is slightly decreased protein per ounce.

Unless you participate in regular intense exercise, your body doesn't need much in the way of carbs; we are programmed to run on fat. There are a few bodily processes that require glucose for energy, but a few cups of daily veggies, and the occasional piece of fruit should be enough for most people. If you're just eating raw peanuts, the residual carb content is pretty negligible unless you're up in the 5+ oz. range (shoot, that's like, 98% of the time for me). Unfortunately, because sweet and salty and/or savory is such a ridiculous combo, many roasted varieties of peanuts and the majority of peanut butters - including the JIF Natural that my mom buys and I demolish - have added sugar (not good). This inches that net carb count closer to 5g/oz, and increases the effect on blood sugar and resultant insulin release. (Side-note: reduced-fat varieties of peanut butter have some of the peanut oil removed and replaced with starches and other additives, making it even worse for you. If you are actually capable of eating PB in moderation, your best bet is "natural" brand with full-fat content no added sugar. If you're like me, do your best to avoid that shit like the plague.) If I ate 8 ounces last night, I consumed roughly 40g of carbs and a whole tablespoon of added sugar, in addition to...

A crap load of fat. I depend on fat as my main fuel source on rest days, but I estimate needing no more than 110g (~1000kCal worth) in my diet on those days. As I mentioned, peanuts offer plenty of fat, and it's important to note that anything with "roasted" peanuts will also contain added oils. In generic peanut butter, these oils are cheap vegetable oils that have been hydrogenated (chemically altered from unsaturated to saturated) to increase shelf life. Natural saturated fat is fine, trans fat truly is evil. The peanuts used to make JIF natural are roasted in palm oil, and thus contain about 15g/oz. 15g/oz. * 8oz. = 120g. I exceeded my needs on peanut butter alone. Add in the fat in the chili, egg yolks, coconut oil, olive oil, avocado, and almonds and I am pretty much doubling my needs. There's a lot more to the calorie in vs. calorie out equation but for simplicity's sake, what I don't use I'm going to store. Fuck! As I've mentioned a few times before, not all fats are created equal. Here's a quick run down, per oz.

Total fat: 13.5g
   Saturated: 1.9g
   Monounsaturated: 7.2g
   Polyunsaturated: 4.4 g
      Omega-3: .8mg
      Omega-6: 4355mg

Conventional wisdom would have us believing that this low ratio of saturated to unsaturated fat is a favorable one. If you haven't read The Truth About Fat!, do so now - I'll wait. As you can see, the SFAs and MUFAs are no big deal, but just look at that Omega-6 content! Palm oil has a slightly better profile, but is still not great. Let's say that the peanut butter has 4.3g of n-6 per ounce, and I ate 8 oz. That's over 34g of omega-6 and virtually zero omega-3. The I'm looking for is a ratio of n-6:n:3 somewhere between 1:1 and 4:1, which means I would need 8.5g just to reach the high end. Most of the other fats I eat are generally low in overall PUFAs but still have unfavorable ratios. That's why I supplement with 4g of omega-3s daily. To offset the inflammation caused by peanut butter I'd have to eat fish oil caps by the handful (and also store excess as fat).

Peter Pan's new label. Seriously though, how fun would the grocery store be if packaging was truthful?

So sorry to depress all you peanut lovers. Just know that as much as you hate this information, I almost certainly hate it worse. I'll readily admit I have an addiction, but I stand firm that I will never give peanuts completely. I like them in all varieties and the taste/texture combination that peanut butter has got going on is about as close to perfection as you can get. Still, I know I need to cut back. I won't buy it on my own but it literally shows up everywhere. Unfortunately, so do spoons. In some ways I'm thankful to George Washington Carver for creating such a delicious masterpiece. At the same time, fuck him for causing my body so much destruction.

This dog feels me.

Planning meals ahead and doing ring dips will make you hard as shit.

One of the most common excuses people use to justify a poor diet is that they don't have time to cook healthy things. A lot of people are misguided about what's "healthy," but I've already laid that out for you as simply as possible - plants, animals, a few select oils, the end. Per a fan's request (shout out to my man Spo out in sweet C-A), I'm going to talk a bit about how to make quick and easy for you as well.

Perhaps the most significant adjustment you can make to save time is implementing an intermittent fasting protocol. There are a few ways you can go about this, and I promise it's not as hard as it sounds. It's actually not hard at all. Check out www.leangains.com for a much better explanation of fasting benefits and implementation than I could ever give. Boom, right there you've taken care of breakfast and lunch. From someone who is overly concerned with when and where the next meal is coming from: this takes a HUGE amount of stress away. Other tips:

• Make a list of meals before grocery shopping and get what you need for the week. Having the materials on-hand is a huge time saver.
• Depending on where you shop, you may be able to buy some things that require little to no prep:
• Eggs - 5 minute scramble. Some places even sell them hard-boiled.
• Canned tuna/salmon/chicken/etc. (read ingredients. Don't buy if it includes anything other than the animal itself, water, and salt)
• Nitrate/nitrite free deli meats
• Raw fruits and vegetables
• Frozen (steamable!)/canned fruits and vegetables (watch for added sugar/salt)
• Greek yogurt/low-sodium cottage cheese/quality hard cheeses (if you're fine with dairy)
• Raw nuts (in moderation! but a decent snack in a pinch)
• Set aside a few hours for prep-time on Sundays, and perhaps on a rest day in the middle of the week. Throw a roast into the crockpot, boil some eggs, grill a pack of chicken, and chop a bunch of veggies - put half into a salad and sautee the other half in coconut oil or bacon grease (yep, you read that right). All of these can be refrigerated and eliminate 90% of prep time when you need to refuel!

That ain't no restaurant chef! It's just me on a Sunday afternoon.

I know some of you are going to be adamantly against fasting. I wholeheartedly believe you're making a mistake by not trying it (yeah I drank the Kool-aid, and that shit is mad good), but I'm going to provide a few lunchtime tips for the knuckleheads because I'm a stand-up dude. There are always times when you have to eat away from home, so this really applies to everyone.

• The easiest thing is to keep a cruet of your favorite olive oil and vinegar at your desk or even in your car or purse. You can get a grilled chicken salad pretty much anywhere, but the dressings are usually made of cheap vegetable oils. No atherosclerosis for me, thanks!
• At a sit-down restaurant, be "that guy" who orders grain-free, with sauce on the side.
• Most restaurants have vegetables and will be happy to substitute for menu sides (if the server says they don't have vegetables it's probably best to just get out of there). 
• Restaurants generally don't take offense if you skip the "special sauce" (it saves them time and money anyway!), and, no guarantees but, if you're friendly they will probably not spit in your food. Here's an example:
• You say: "May I have a double-hamburger, medium, with no bun and mustard only please?"
  Server says: "French fries okay?"
  You say: "Actually I would like a side of steamed vegetables/salad with no dressing instead. Thank you."
• At a deli, ask for a sub between two lettuce leaves (again, be wary of dressings).
• If you absolutely have to eat fast-food - on a road trip, for example, just order a burger or sandwich and skip out on the bun. You'll more-than-likely be consuming vegetable oil in some capacity, but just up your fish oil to balance your n-6:n-3 ratio.
• Occasionally, order what you really want! You should always be somewhat sensible but if you're serious about getting healthier, your "diet" is a life-long thing. If you're on point the majority of the time, filling your craving for pizza every once in a while ain't gonna kill ya so don't beat yourself up for a moment of weakness. Stressing over it will probably be more harmful than what you actually ate.
• If the restaurant your friends chose is vegetarian/vegan, pick new friends.

Now on to the business. Monday's workout included moderate-heavy loads at high speed and quite a bit of volume; couple that with the running on Tuesday morning, and that's a textbook recipe for DOMS. Is it weird to enjoy being this sore? I wanted to really pile it on so Tuesday's workout went like this:

• Strict overhead press RPT (+1 indicates spotter assistance for one rep)
• 165 x 2 + 1
• 155 x 3 + 1
• 145 x 4 + 1
• 135 x 6 + 1
• Ring dips - 3 x max reps
• 21
• 18
• 14 and 3/4
• Metcon - my two partners joined me again today so we took turns with this one. After each round, we jumped rope during the next person's turn and then rested during the third turn. I finished my 4th round of jumprope at 12:20.
• 10 kipping pullup > toes to bar (20 swings total)
• 15 pushups
• 10 overhead tire slams (lift OH and throw down)

Ninja Mays demonstrating proper form.

Any time you work with heavy loads with the press, it seems the first rep is harder than the second because you don't have the benefit of that eccentric load (similar to the concentric-only squats, only we worked M.E. today). Think of your muscles as a rubber band - the more you stretch them eccentrically, the stronger the concentric contraction. The first rep of the press abandons that stretch-shorten reflex and over time, the muscles will become more efficient in producing force without it. That's why heavy presses and deadlifts reign king in my book; screw your 400 pound bench press, you rubber-band cheater! The auxilary ring dips were pretty tough, especially after pre-fatiguing triceps and shoulders with the press. Ring dips are extremely taxing on the core stabilizers, and therefore this entry's title is appropriate. It's one of those exercises in which you hit a wall and there's pretty much no chance you can complete another rep, because you can't take attention away from stability unless you want to fall on your face.

I switched up the post-workout snack today and went with 1/4 lb. of all-natural roast beef and 2 kiwis. I felt sluggishness setting in on the way home and decided to up the PWO carbs a bit. Here's the result:

7:30PM - I chopped a 5 oz. porkchop and threw it into a pan with some coconut oil and about a cup of frozen berries. I let the pork cook a bit and then added 6 egg whites and scrambled the whole mess. I upped the dosage to 3 sweet potatoes (about 1 lb.) - steamed them and used 'em as a pedestal purple pork pleasure. The right dish contains some unexciting steamed broccoli and spinach with salt free mustard.

At 9:15 I had an spring mix salad with 1/2 lb. 99% fat-free ground turkey fried in coconut oil with a handful of grape tomatoes, 1/2 an avocado, about 1/3 of a gala apple, and some balsamic vinegar, along with a can of beets. Couldn't locate my phone at the moment so there's no photo evidence.

I fell asleep around 11 but still had trouble getting out of bed at 7:20. I'll get to bed relatively early tonight and rest up for another double session tomorrow. Go 'CUSE!