Well, this morning was my last CrossFit workout before heading off to Paris. I have two challenges while traveling this time:
That’s right. I have to somehow avoid the great bread, cheeses, pastries, and chocolate and only eat duck, beef, and foie gras. Wish me luck!
After many months of researching, shopping, and trial and error; I have finally found a solid pre-workout and post-workout protein recovery drink that works with the Paleo Challenge! You have no idea how hard it is to find a paleo-friendly powdered protein source that doesn’t add sugars (real or fake), soy, dairy products, artificial flavors, etc. But, I finally found a source of pure powdered egg whites with nothing else added. Nothing! I mentioned my new protein powder source yesterday. It has a pretty neutral, blah taste. So, I add it to coconut water to give it a better, sweeter taste and get the health benefits too. Coconut is a great food source when you’re on Paleo!
I actually like all of the exercises that we did for our CrossFit workout of the day today (WOD): Push-ups, Chin-ups, and Dips. I’ve been practicing the kipping pull-up and chin-up, so it was a good day to put it to the test. This WOD is a great way to work on your chest, triceps, and biceps. The chin-ups, in particular, also help you perform better on rope climbing.
With all of the core strength training and ab work over the past few months, my abs have definitely become much stronger (see photo). For example, today in my CrossFit workout we did Toes-to-Bar for part of our conditioning WOD (see the photo on the right). It isn’t easy to do, but I can do it now! Can I do 45 of them? Ummm, no. But, I did my best to get toes to the bar on the first 21 and more like a Knees-to-Elbow (K2E) on the rest of the reps.
There are very few things that have the motivational impact of progress. Today in my CrossFit workout I felt stronger and faster than I have in awhile and boy does that feel good! A nice affirmation for choosing this new fitness lifestyle. Pace yourself, stay committed, be consistent, and you will see progress. That progress will drive you on and keep you going! It is probably too early to really attribute this to the Paleo diet that I’ve been following, since I only started it this week. But, I do think that cutting out sugars and simple carbohydrates (e.g., bread) has already made me feel better and improved my energy levels. Simple carbs give you a spike of energy, but it drops off fast and you crash.
Strength training using Olympic-style weightlifting was something I avoided until just a few months ago. For the last 30 years, I have primarily done bodyweight training (e.g., push-ups) and some lighter lifting with dumbbells (e.g., bicep curls). That’s about it. But, when I joined my CrossFit gym a little over 5 months ago, weightlifting was a core component of the training. I dreaded it at first. But, now I have come to realize how much the increases in strength have improved my overall fitness, my cardio performance (e.g., long trail runs), and the muscle tone of my body. It is worth the investment of your time and energy.
We really worked the legs and abs today in CrossFit. The strength training was the Front Squat and the conditioning was a combination of Squat Cleans, Stiff Legged Dead Lifts (SLDL), and Knees-to-Elbows (K2E). I’m really happy with my ab strength progress (been practicing every week), since I was able to knock out 15 K2E with proper form very quickly today. Practice, practice, practice to overcome exercises that challenge you!
Broke the Prowler out again today at CrossFit. Boy oh boy, does that thing work my glutes and hamstrings! The Brazil Butt Lift Workout
has nothing on the Prowler.
Ah, the first CrossFit workout of the year today and it was a good one! It was the first time that we’ve introduced L-Pull-ups into the workout and they are not easy to do. I was able to do a pretty good number of them, but not the full number in the WOD (had to fall back to regular pull-ups). So, I have some work to do!
