Posts Tagged ‘Workout’

Oops..

Posted: August 16, 2012 in Challenge, Food
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I’m an avid Amazon shopper and have subscriptions set up to many things like coconut water, home supplies, etc. I forgot that I also had a subscription to this treat until it showed up at my door:

Yeah oops! Haribo Gummy Bears are halal gummy bears and they are addicting. I apparently have a subscription set to send me a 5 POUND bag every 6 months. Yeah, 5 pounds! I didn’t realize you could buy sugar in that kind of quantity. The sad thing is, the last time I ordered these was when I had my surgery and in the week I was in bed recovering, I finished almost the whole bag! I need to get these out of sight ASAP.

Sahoor

For Sahoor, I kept it simple and made 2 sunny side up eggs with another 2 egg whites in olive oil. I mashed up some sweet potatoes and had that as well. I always knew egg yolks aren’t the best for you, but I recently read an article on just how bad they can be for you. I have to do some more research on that and see if I need to cut down on those a bit.

Iftar

I was busy volunteering tonight so I didn’t have much time to prepare Iftar. I was able to pull out the chicken chapli kabobs I had frozen and turn them into a bun-less burger. I added lots of lettuce and tomatoes and called it a meal. I also had some cantaloupe.

Workout

I borrowed this workout from a reader’s blog. There are some great workouts on that blog that you can do anywhere with minimal equipment. You can do this one anywhere as long as you have a pull up bar:

10 Handstand push-ups
20 Dead hang pull-ups
30 Burpees
40 Sit-ups
50 Squats
60 Push-ups
 
 

I don’t have a lot to say in this post because I’ve been spending a little more time concentrating on Ramadan. I hope everyone is going strong these last couple of days and is able to finish strong. It’s almost over!

Pardon the Egg Roll and Snacking

Posted: August 15, 2012 in Challenge, Food
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So last night was another situation where I had Iftar at a friend’s house. I talked about this a few posts ago about creating a game plan when you are on foreign turf. I stuck with the same principles last night and I was able to get a great Paleo meal in. Much thanks to my friend and his family for great food!

Workout

This workout was 2 short workouts put together. There was a little bit of a break in between them to recover but there is only so much recovery when you haven’t eaten or drank all day. I got through it though and even ran!

3 Rounds
15 Hang Power Cleans 135lbs
15 Burpees
–10 Minute rest–
5 Rounds
35 Double Unders
Run 200 M

My stamina is building up and my body is adjusting to this so I will be curious to see how my body performs when it’s fully hydrated next week. If I’m starting to perform decent now, I should be a killer next week right??

Iftar

There you see some meat, some greens, a broiled tomato, and a unique lemon with spinach dish that I have to find the recipe for. I made sure to empty a jug of water.

Last night was also Laylatul Qadr, or night of power. It’s the 27th night of Ramadan and is a very special occasion. During the nights of Ramadan, there is a special prayer called Taraweeh every night. During these prayers, the Quran is recited in it’s entirety over the span of 27 days. Last night was when the last bit was read. The turn out was phenomenal. There had to have been over 2,000 people in the mosque. This was the case at mosques around the world. After that is done, people spend most of the night praying, reading the Quran, and worshiping in other ways. It’s said that worshiping in this night contains more reward than 1000 months. I’m all about good deals and that sounds like a good one to me. So I spent the night back and forth from the mosque. Now, dinner was around 8 pm, I didn’t sleep till 6 am. I had to have gotten hungry, so how did I snack?

I tried to stay healthy while snacking most of the night. I did indulge on a few Doritos (booo yeah I know), but I contained it. I had some mashed sweet potatoes left over from the other night so I ate that. I ate some watermelon to satisfy the sweet tooth, the almond butter came in handy as well. What was missing was guac… I need to fix that. Anyhow, I also snacked on gluten free hummus and drank lot’s of water.

Sahoor

This took me right into Sahoor and I made Chicken Stir Fry with eggs:

    • 3 eggs
    • 1 Tbs of water
    • 1/8 tsp of sea salt
    • 1/4 tsp of chili powder
    • 1/4 onion, chopped
    • 1 small tomato, chopped
    • 2 Tbs of coconut oil
    • 2 Scallions, cut in to 1 inch pieces
    • 1 bell pepper, chopped
    • 1 clove of garlic, minced
    • 2 chapli kabobs, diced or 1/2 lb of cooked chicken breast, diced

Beat the eggs in a bowl with the water, salt, chili powder, tomato, and onion. Heat up a pan and add the coconut oil. Add in the scallion, bell pepper, and garlic and saute for a few minutes until they are tender. Add in the egg mixture along with the chicken and start mixing it around. Keep mixing and scrambling until it’s done.

Serve it on a plate with some slivered almonds. A sliced avocado would go great with it too. I had some sweet potato remaining so I ate that with it. I drank 1.5 liters of water and was full.

This is it, less thanb 3 days left! Stay focused and let’s get through it.

Power of a Good Breakfast

Posted: August 10, 2012 in Challenge, Food
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Hey, did you know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day? Snore. Duh, we’ve all been hearing this since we were little. Oh but do we really spend the time and effort every morning to eat a nutritional breakfast? By that I don’t mean pouring a bowl of sugar packed cereal or grabbing some toaster pastries as you are leaving the house. I mean actually budget time in the mornings to prepare a breakfast that contains protein, complex carbs, and healthy fats. What you have for breakfast will affect the rest of your day every single time. Not only will it decide if you will have a sluggish or energetic day, it can greatly affect your workout. Today I was able to have a great meal for Sahoor and it resonated throughout my day, all the way to my CrossFit workout in the evening.

Sahoor

For starters, I had scrambled eggs, 2 eggs/2 egg whites (I ran out), mixed with onions and peppers. Going back to being prepared, I made guacamole the night before because I knew I wouldn’t have the energy nor time to make it in the morning. I added a generous amount to my plate. I even scooped some up with my fork and ate it afterwards by itself. I followed this with a protein shake and 1.5+ liters of water. I felt great already and knew it would be a good day!

The Workout

Today’s workout consisted of a strength portion followed by a met-con.

Every Minute on the Minute for 7 Minutes
1 Clean and Jerk – 185 lb
 
3 Rounds for Time
7 Front Squats – 185 lb
21 Kettle Bell Swings – 53 lb
Run 200 meters

The only thing I modified was the run. The rest of the athletes ran 400 meters. Other than that, I was able to do all of the Clean and Jerks at that weight with no issue. The 7th one was challenging to maintain form but it didn’t feel heavy! For the met-con, in order to do your Front Squats, you have to Clean the bar to your shoulders and then squat. So the key is to do them unbroken. As soon as you drop that bar, you have to spend a decent amount of energy to pick that 185 lbs up to your shoulders. I was pretty good at doing those unbroken until the very last Front Squat in the very last round! Picking that bar up took some time since your quads are getting destroyed by the KB swings as well as the run. Nonetheless, I was excited that I was able to finish it in a good time, WITHOUT feeling dizzy!! I honestly feel that my nutrient filled breakfast attributed to my successful workout.

Iftar

For tonight’s Iftar, I decided to make another bunless burger. This time around I used Chicken Chapli Kabobs.

    • ground chicken meat
    • onions
    • green peppers
    • tomatoes
    • chili powder
    • eggs
    • olive oil

Add the onions, peppers, tomatoes, and chili powder to a food processor. Blend it up and then add the mixture along with the eggs and oil to the ground chicken. Use your hands to mix it up real well. Grab a meatball sized amount of meat into your hands and then form it into a circular pattie. Slap it onto a grill and let it cook. I usually use a George Foreman grill and make a large batch at one time. I then freeze them for future use. They are great to pull out for a quick meal when you don’t have time to cook.

I added a layer of lettuce to my plate, added on 4 or 5 chicken patties, topped with some sliced onions, cucumbers, organic Dijon mustard and the remaining guac. You can really add whatever you would normally enjoy on a burger (as long as it’s not processed and loaded with junk!) I had a protein shake and some fish oil as well. Great way to end the day.

To recap, breakfast = very important. Breakfast….=….very important. Note what you eat in the mornings and you will find a direct correlation to the function of your day. Make that meal count!

Careful, It Might Be Hot

Posted: August 6, 2012 in Challenge, Food
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Hmm, I wonder if there is a direct correlation between lagged physiological response and hunger. I suffered my first burn in a long time while cooking and it’s sort of a funny story. Not only did I do it once, but twice the same way! This is after making the mistake of putting a pan with a wooden handle in the oven. I mean who does that??

I know I’ve been posting a day late recently but I will try to get back to posting sooner. Also I promised a change up in Sahoor items and I will try to do that this week. Omlette and scrambled eggs are just so easy to make! So for Sahoor I had the typical 2 egg/3 egg white omlette with a ground chicken pattie. I drank the typical 1.5 liters of water as well.

The Workout – This is a quick body weight workout that can be done literally anywhere. Just warm up your core and stretch your legs with squats and lunges.

10 rounds for time
10 hand-release push-ups
10 v-ups
10 squats
 

For Iftar, along with burning myself, I made Turmeric Chicken. Turmeric is a plant that is usually grown to powder form and used in curry based dishes. It’s used heavily in South Asian and Thai dishes. Recent research is proving some major health benefits in this plant including treating Alzheimer’s. Here is how the dish was made:

    • 1/2 lb of chicken breast, diced – seasoned with sea salt and chili powder
    • 1/2 an onion, sliced
    • 1 clove of garlic, diced
    • 1.5 tablespoon of turmeric
    • 1/2 lemon’
    • handful of cherry tomatoes
    • 1/2 tsp of sea salt
    • extra virgin olive oil
    • chopped of parsley

Coat a skillet (ahem, not a pan with a wooden handle) with olive oil and heat it up with medium heat. Once it’s warm, add in the onions and saute them for a minute or two. Add in the seasoned chicken to the skillet and let it cook for about 7-8 minutes. Add in the turmeric powder, garlic, and lemon. Stir it around and let it cook for another 10 minutes or so until it starts browning to your desire. In the mean time, set your oven to high broil. Coat your cherry tomatoes with salt and olive oil. When the chicken is done, add in the tomatoes and place the skillet in the oven. Listen for the tomatoes to start popping. Once they have popped, pull it out (with an oven mitt!) and add in the parsley. Done:

I burnt my onions a bit so that taste lingered. Other than that it smelled great and the turmeric was a great touch. Add some more greens to it and you have a meal!

So how did I burn myself? Well, my first mistake was using a pan instead of a skillet. Rookie mistake. Then, when I went to pull the pan out of the oven, my sister (assisting me) tells me it might be hot. It just didnt register in time. I found myself holding the burning hot handle thinking, hmm something isn’t right. Doh! So I came to my senses and used an oven mitt to pull it out of the oven and on to the counter. A few minutes later I went to transfer the chicken to a plate and I grabbed it again! Seriously?! I blame the hunger.

Lessons learned, pans do not go in the oven and things from the oven might be hot. Be careful kids..

Case of the Mondays

Posted: July 30, 2012 in Challenge, Food
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It’s Monday, weekend is over. The opportunity to sleep in is gone sigh. Oh well, time to make the best of it. I had another sleepy Sahoor this morning. Nothing too exciting food wise. I had some of the left over pasta and then had the same omelette I usually make, 2 eggs with 3 egg whites and onions/tomatoes. I drank over a liter of water. I also had a paleo muffin that I made the night before. I needed to eat more though considering I had workout tonight but we’ll just blame that on a case of the Mondays. It’s interesting though, I found myself craving coffee today when normally I never drink coffee. For those that are coffee drinkers, coffee can be Paleo compliant but it has to be drank black. No sugar or cream! Personally, I prefer the alternative of Teavana tea. They have some great flavors and most of them have really good health benefits. I recommend checking it out.

Here was tonight’s workout:

Back Squat
1 x 1 x 1 x 1 x 1 (weight should be 95% of your 1 rep max)
 
then…
5 Rounds
5 Push Jerks, 145 lbs
25 Double Unders

I did ok in today’s workout. I was interested to see if I had lost any strength since Ramadan started. I was able to back squat (around 300 lbs) 95% of my 1 rep max without too much trouble. This was great news for me! I did feel a little weak for the rest of the workout but that’s probably because I didn’t eat enough this morning. I wasn’t able to do the push jerks consecutively after the 2nd round because of dizziness. I started to drop the bar and start from the ground. No big deal.

Biggest take from today is that my strength hasn’t gone down!

For Iftar I made a beef dish today, Bunless Burger. I have ground beef patties that I keep frozen for busy days like today. I can pull them out, put them on the stove or microwave them and I have something to eat. The patties are mixed with tomatoes, chaat masala, paprika, chili powder, salt, egg, and lemon juice (uhm, it’s a little spicy if you can’t tell). I put the patties on top of a bunch of lettuce, added some tomato, cucumbers, and spicy mint mixture (chutney) to it. I ate it with a fork and knife while I drank another liter of water.

I was still a little hungry so I munched on a few blueberries later. I also snacked on some gluten-free jalapeno hummus with baby carrots. I like spices if you haven’t noticed.

I promised a good beef dish and I know this wasn’t exactly spectacular. I will make something good with beef at some point this week. Scouts..honor?

 

Home Turf

Posted: July 24, 2012 in Challenge, Food
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I want to start by saying that I appreciate all of the positive feedback I’m getting. Every remark is making me stronger in this venture and is really motivating, so thank you! If you want to receive updates when I post entries, add your email address in the box to the left

So just like that, the quick trip is over and I deem it pretty successful from the challenge point of view. I was able to eat pretty Paleo and use what was available in the hotel gym to perform a CrossFit workout. I made it home right before the last CrossFit class of the day at my gym so I was able to join in on the fun. Today’s workout was:

“Cindy”
AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) in 20 mins 10 mins
5 pull ups
10 push ups
15 squats

I modified this classic CrossFit workout to be 10 mins instead of 20. I managed to complete 9 rounds. I felt a little dizzy after round 7, probably because of all of the walking in the heat today and lack of sleep, so I decided to end at 10 mins. I might have been able to go for more after a minute or two of rest but I decided not to push it yet. I can feel my body adjusting to working out without food and water so I’m hoping I can start tackling more difficult workouts soon.

For Iftar, I didn’t have a lot of time to prepare so I whipped up some quick Coconut Chicken. It took almost no time to prepare so it’s great for a busy day. As usual, to open my fast I had 3 dates. Here is how the coconut chicken was made:

  • 1/2 lb chicken breast
  • 1/4 cup shredded coconut
  • 1/4 cup almond flour
  • 1/8 tsp of sea salt
  • 1 egg
  • 2 Tbs coconut oil

Almond flour is a real treat for Paleo eaters, it almost feels like cheating. It’s a gluten-free substitute for flour and tastes great. I’ll attempt some Paleo muffins this weekend using almond flour. Healthy muffins, sounds like an oxymoron but we’ll see how it turns out.

Anyways, to make this you place the shredded coconut, almond flour, and sea salt into a bowl and mix it up. Crack the egg into a small bowl and beat it. Dip the chicken into the egg bowl and then coat it with the coconut/almond flour mixture. Heat up a pan and put the coconut oil in it. Place the chicken on the pan and fry it until it’s cooked. Simple and done! Here is how it turned out:

It had a great sweet taste that you don’t expect when you think chicken. It confused the taste buds for a minute. I added some salad to it and chugged on a lot of water, including a Vita Coco Water to restore my electrolytes. It was a lot of food so I didn’t finish it. I did get hungry later on so I’m eating the rest of it now. So much for leftovers.

So I know this has been a lot of chicken dinners but I promise to switch it up with some beef coming soon. Stay tuned!

Ramadan on the Road

Posted: July 23, 2012 in Challenge, Food
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Today was the first day I had to eat out this Ramadan. The plan was to carefully research and find a Paleo friendly place. However, life happened and there was limited time to find the perfect place. My fate was left in the hands of Yelp and it landed me in a Irish pub with more baseball memorabilia then the MLB Hall of Fame. It was too late to turn back so I had to make do with what was available. Turned out to be ok. I was able to watch the Nationals game (Go NATS!) while I scoured the menu for something somewhat Paleo friendly. For those of you who have eaten at Irish pubs, you know that finding something healthy is nearly impossible. When you are faced with a situation like that, you have two viable options. Almost every restaurant will have some sort of salad selection. Pick one that is heavy on the greens and contains some sort of protein in it (avoid 6 lbs of ranch dressing). After all of the walking today, I was spent and a salad just wasn’t going to cut it for me. So the next option is to head on over to the gluten-free portion of the menu. Gluten is a type of protein that is added into grains and wheat to add texture, flavor, and thickness. It’s also difficult for the body to process, so for a healthy diet it’s something that should be avoided. Most restaurants will have gluten-free options these days so be sure to ask for it.

I ended up getting a shrimp dish that was served with roasted red peppers, tomatoes, a healthy serving of broccoli served on top of linguine. It had some oregano and other spices in it and it looked like it was made with olive oil. I later had some mixed fruit to satisfy the sweet tooth.
No pictures of food tonight, the food came out right as Iftar hit and I wasted no time attacking it.

The Workout

You and I both know, traveling is one of the best excuses to skip a workout. Not for a dedicated CrossFitter though! As a CrossFitter, when you travel to a different city, there is almost always a CrossFit gym that you can drop in at. They will almost always take you in as if you are a regular and it’s fun to see how other gyms operate. However, a couple of things hindered that option for me today. One is that my schedule simply didn’t match up with the workout sessions of the local gym. Second, as a drop in, I’m not so sure how a coach would feel with me making up my own WOD as a guest if they had an intense met-con programmed. So this leaves me with two options. I could either do another body weight workout in my room, or… the dreaded hotel gym..

Ignore the grandma on the elliptical and avoid eye contact with the guy doing 600 bicep curls and you will be just fine:

“Hotel Woes Chipper” for time
15 dumb bell thrusters 70#
10 push ups
15 dumb bell push presses
10 squats
15 med ball thrusters
10 sit ups
15 dumb bell cleans

With this day in the books, time for the hard part. Waking up for Sahoor and finding a place to eat at 4 am…

First Weekend Complete

Posted: July 22, 2012 in Challenge, Food
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The first weekend of Ramadan is over and am I the only one confused where the time went? I figured I would be at home on a rare unscheduled weekend and that I would be counting down the minutes. SubhanAllah, time passed and here we are at Iftar. Food time. Alright so some of you saw a teaser earlier on my Facebook page about what was for dinner:

The result, Chicken Fajita with Guacamole. The end result, or I guess the beginning before I devoured it:

This is a pretty straightforward dish to make. The guac was from the night before and made a nice addition. Here is how it was done:

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb of chicken breast cut in to small pieces
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp sea salt (optional)
  • 1 Tbs of coconut oil
  • 1/2 onion sliced
  • 1 red bell pepper sliced
  • 1/2 of a lemon
  • 1/2 of a lime
  1. Combine the cumin, oregano, chili powder, and sea salt into a bowl.
  2. Mix the chicken pieces into the bowl and mix it around to make sure all of the chicken is coated.
  3. Heat up a pan and when it’s hot, put in the coconut oil
  4. Put the onions in the pan and let it saute for 3-4 minutes
  5. Add the chicken in and stir everything up. Let the chicken cook for about 10-15 minutes while stirring.
  6. Right before the chicken is done, add the lemon, lime, and red bell pepper to the mixture. Stir it up for a few minutes
  7. Serve with a mixture of vegetables and guacamole.

I usually use extra virgin olive oil but decided to switch things up today and use coconut oil. Coconut oil is known for its many benefits regarding digestion, weight loss, skin care, and immune system. Also the salt is optional here. If you do want salt, try to use sea salt. This is a lot of food so plan to store some or share with someone else. In 20 minutes, you have another Paleo friendly dish.

The Workout

Today’s workout is a body weight workout. These type of workouts are great if you are on the go or don’t have access to equipment. You don’t need a lot of room either so if you are going out and aren’t going to have time, a public bathroom should be more than enough space to get this done haha.

10 rounds for time

10 push ups

10 squats

10 sit ups

Not a lot of technical movements going on here so just make sure you warm up your major muscle groups and get your heart rate elevated before starting. If the push ups become too much or you can’t do push ups, drop to your knees and do them that way. If you still feel this will be too much, you can reduce the workout from 10 rounds to 6. Remember the goal of these works are high intensity, so push your self to do as much of this as you can unbroken (without taking rest).

That’s a wrap for day 3. I’ll be on the road for the next couple of days for work so I’ll be tackling the challenge of eating out as well as working out on the road. Stay tuned!

First Workout

Posted: July 20, 2012 in Challenge
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First day of Ramadan and my first Ramadan workout are in the books. Maybe it was the fact that I was busy at work all day today or that I knew I needed to stay strong for a good workout, but I didn’t really feel it. I felt a bit of grumbling during my normal breakfast time and then again during my routine lunch hour but other than that it was great.

As for the workout, I didn’t exactly stick to my plan but for the better. Since it was my first day, I had decided this morning I would stick to a less intense strength based working. Probably something with olympic lifts, nothing that involved a time challenge. However as tired as I was, when I got to the gym I felt great.  I made it for the 7.30pm session and randomly decided to take on the Workout of the Day (WOD) that the rest of the gym had done. I did decide to modify it a bit by reducing the amount of running I would have to do since it was afterall my first day trying this. Here is what I did:

3 Rounds for time
Run 200 meters
15 Power Snatch 75#
7 Chest to Bar Pullups
7 Ring dips
Completion time- 10 minutes
 

I felt pretty good afterwards, I wasn’t completely wiped and even felt I could have done it a bit faster. I was surprised to find that I still had some energy left in me but I decided to leave it at that, no need to push my self to the edge on day 1. I managed to get home just in time for Iftar. Enough text, let’s see a picture of my dinner

What you see is chicken marinated with spices, sauteed in olive oil with broccolli and some lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers on the side. For the chicken you can ready it in advance by getting chicken breast, cutting it into small pieces, and dip it into a mixture of lemon juice and various spices. I then freeze it for future use. Oh and I love spices so I throw some siriracha sauce on top it.

All in all a successful first day. I ate pretty Paleo, was able to do a met-con workout, and then made it to taraweeh prayer. 1 day down, God willing I can keep this up for another 29!

p.s. time to hydrate hydrate hydrate!

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