Unfortunately the trend in the commercial fitness industry has always been to invent new devices that will do a better job of getting you in shape than you were previously able to do on your own.  Much of this can be attributed to the fact that most people can’t find an exercise program that they can adhere to and/or that gives them the desired results. Therefore they lose interest and motivation, and are always looking for a new, better, easier way to get the results they desire.  Here is where the commercial fitness industry as capitalized on the enormous potential that of the general public being misinformed on fitness, and their willingness to pay for an easy fix. 

The fact is that all the “tools” and “devices” that can get you in peak shape, have already been “invented”.  What did cave people do before weight machines were developed?  The climbed on things, they lifted rocks and logs, they ran, they jumped, they threw things.  Did this get them into shape?  You better believe it did!  They didn’t have homes in Blackhawk or Whole Foods Market, they lived off the land, and if they weren’t in shape, they died!

If you think about it, the things we use in the Sweat Shop have also been “invented” post caveman days.  Dumbbells, barbells, medicine balls, pullup bars, kettlebells, climbing rope, gymnastic rings.  However, this is about as complex as it gets.  These tools have been designed so we can practically (dropping heavy rocks from overhead may not be the best on your gym’s flooring) replicate the movements and activities that humans have been performing for millions of years.  Unfortunately for the commercial fitness industry dumbbells and barbells can’t be reinvented, therefore there is little money to be made without coming up with the newest most hi tech device.

Check out this video from the IHRSA (International Health Racquet Sports Association) convention that was just held in San Francisco last week.  My personal favorite is the “zero gravity” treadmill.  Ironically, NASA has spent untold amounts of money to develop ways astronauts can exercise with the benefits that gravity offers, simpy becuase the numerous health risks associated with long term exposure to a gravity free environment.  The fact is, for us earthlings, we deal with gravity everyday, therefore our training should also have the effects of gravity that we will experience on a daily basis.  The long distance runners that are mentioned in the video that use this device to reduce the amount of impact on their joints, simply need to stop running so much to reduce the amount of impact on your joints!

Video from Associated Press
http://video.ap.org/?f=ILEDW&pid=dRvjOx2QmNWVvVwS71fQuZSdctA2MxxR

CrossFit workouts have lots of variety.  They are kind of like a good sausage, you never really know what you are going to get.  But it’s not just the exercises that change, it’s also the format.  Some days the weights we use are much heavier, some days the only weight we use is our body weight.  Some workouts are short and fast.  Some longer.  Some have rest periods built in.  Some don’t.  Some have set number of repititions with set number of rounds to be completed as quickly as possible.  Others have a set time, with a goal to complete as many repitions or rounds as possible within that time.  Some have only one, two or three exercises that are repeated over and over again.  Others have many exercises, some or all of which may only be completed once during the workout.

Wednesday evening’s workout was a Chipper.  This is a workout that has a cornucopia of exercises that are only completed once.  The goal is to get from start to finish, as quickly as possible:

450 meter row
650 meter run (outside around the ClubSport property)
25 Dumbbell Squat Clean and Jerks
25 Pullups
25 Wall Balls
25 Walking Lunge Steps
25 Pushups
25 Knees to Elbow
25 Situps
25 Dumbbell Rows from pushup plank position
25 Body Weight Squats
25 Summo Deadlift High Pull w/ Dumbbells
25 Burpees

Fastest times were:
Brad V. 28:13
Bryer V. 31:02

Afterwards Brad said he felt like he had been through a chummer.  Job well done. 

What was your last workout?  3 sets of 10 reps on the bench press followed by 3 sets of 10 reps bicep curls?  Or perhaps the eliptical then some machines?  How long have you been doing the same workouts?  How much variety do you have in your workout?  Do you like your results? 

Anyone else notice that the equipment we use in CrossFit Sweat Shop is pretty basic?  There are a lot of really complicated and specialized (not to mention, extremely expensive) machines out there.  Unfortunately, the majority of the “fitness equipment” out there today arises from the 1970′s when the popularity of bodybuilding began to soar.  The trend then, and unfortunately still today, was to develop machines that isolated individual muscle groups.  The reason being, this is an excellent way to achieve muscle hypertrophy (gain in muscle size).  Fortunately, the year is now 2009, and everyone is aware that using machines that isolate small muscle groups, or even using free weights for single joint movements (bicep curl, tricep extension, shoulder raises) is a complete waste of time if a functioning and healthy body is what you desire.  Right?  Regrettably, this is not the case.  Next time you are in a gym, take a look around at all the people using machines and/or doing “bodybuilding” movements with free weights.  A large majority of them are women whose goal is to not bulk up.  Ooops!

If anyone is interested in a book that explains, from an anthropology approach, how we as humans should be exercising, I HIGHLY recommend the book Play as if your life depends on it.  It is an extremely interesting, informative, fun and easy read.  Everyone I’ve recommended this book to has really enjoyed it.  It is one of my all-time favorites.  If anyone is interested I have a copy that you may borrow.

The picture above are of items I “found” in and around my apartment.  The first person to correctly name each of the items, and the quantity of each shown will win either a new car, a CrossFit Sweat Shop t-shirt, or have the remainder of their mortgage paid in full.  While you are posting in the comments section, also post your “favorite” piece of gym equipment. 

In the time it took you to read this post: 2 people at your gym put extremely unnatural forces on their patella tendon and knee joint  by doing the leg extension machine, one bodybuilder dude  is only half way through wrapping his knees before doing a limited range of motion set on the leg press, 4 people exacerbated their tennis elbow by doing dumbbell tricep extensions, and 2 women who want to reduce the size of their hips just crushed a set of 15 reps on the hip abduction machine, isolating their gluteal muscles in a way that they will only be used for while on that machine, all the while maintaining a heart rate that is just above that of a corpse, thus failing to address the fat that lies over their glute muscles, consequently rendering their efforts useless.

Be careful out there people.

The new location for CrossFit Sweat Shop will be opening in early April.  This location is specifically designed to suit the needs of those looking for a facility that is dedicated to a results based training program.  In addition to CrossFit classes for adults, sports performance training for youth athletes will also be available.  Details to be released soon.

Monday’s Workout:

“Cindy”

As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes:
5 Pullups
10 Pushups
15 Squats

Best Performances:
Enrique: 26 rounds Rx’d (as prescribed)
Sarah G: 24 rounds (w/ blue band)

I know what you are thinking.  You want to try this whole, Zone eating, you keep hearing about, but you’re not sure.  You see other people making drastic changes to their body composition.  You see people crushing workouts when just a few weeks prior, they were the ones slogging through, just trying to make it out alive.  But eating in the Zone and keeping your carbohydrate intake under control can be tough, especially if you like pasta.  I’ve got your solution.  Spaghetti squash.  Seriously, comparing this stuff to pasta is like comparing a set of barbell thrusters and a 500 meter row to the leg extension machine and a recumbant bike.  No contest.  So here’s the deal, pasta itself doesn’t really have a taste, so it’s the sauce that makes or breaks the spaghetti.  Luckily for me I make a killer spaghetti sauce because pasta was a HUGE part of my diet until a little more than a year ago.  Spaghetti squash is suprisingly similar to traditional spaghetti, only it has just a bit of a crunch to it.  Think of it as pasta that has been cooked al dente.  Here’s how to make it happen:

Cut the squash in half (long way)
Remove the seeds and the loose “spaghetti” that is in the center
Place the two halves, face down in a large baking pan with about 1 inch of water.
Bake in the oven for 60 minutes.
In the meantime, cook up your favorite marinara sauce and as always, make sure it has lots of meat!
Remove squash from oven.
Use a fork to draw the “spaghetti” from the squash.
Add sauce and enjoy.
 

Lastly, big props to Patty, who really pushed the pace of her workout this morning.  Patty has been coming to the 8:15am class for some time now, but this morning was the first time she came to the 6am class.  Patty did great and was able to keep up with the “big dawgs”, that are 6am crew!

Twelve elderly Italian women just died of a heart attack after reading my suggestion that squash is a tastey substitute for pasta.   3.8 million people worldwide die each year of diabetes.  Pasta bad, veggies good.  Have a good weekend.

CrossFit Sweat Shop will be moving to a new location soon!  Stay tuned for more details in the next couple of days!

  I realized something a few weeks back.  It must suck for people who are just starting to workout for their first time ever, or for those that are so inconsistent with their workouts they only make it in to the gym once or twice a week, or perhaps less.  While my brother was visiting I took a week off from working out to go snowboarding and to just hang out with my brother.  My first workout back, after 6 days off was nothing too crazy, but I awoke the next morning feeling like I had aged 40 years during my sleep.  My back was sore, my legs ached, and my knees felt like I had just endured a 7 hour drive to L.A., crammed in the back seat of a Ford Festiva.  I was really sore, no big deal, I have been sore before.   The next day it was even worse, getting on and off the toilet was an ordeal, I seriously contemplated adult diapers.  By day 3 it had subsided, a little.  Day 4 I was still sore, but able to take the stairs instead of the elevator in order to get to the fitness floor.  Within my 6 days away from working out, my body had adapted to the greatly reduced daily physical demands I had imposed on it the weeks prior.  Then I began thinking about so many people who begin a workout program and quit right away.  I can only imagine, if I didn’t know better, and thought this type of soreness was a result of every workout, I too may choose a sedentary lifestyle over Tabata squats!  There are also those people who are inconsistent with their workouts, making it into the gym twice one week, once the next week.  They may experience soreness occasionally, but most likely, because of their inconsistent workout schedule, they have settled into a level of mediocrity that produces little results and fosters workout intensities that are so low they are all but wasting their time.  Consistency is a critical component if you are searching for results, be it performance, or aesthetic based results. 

Consistency however, can be a double edged sword.  If your intensity is high, and you stay consistent and frequent (5X per week)with your workouts, it is actually advantagous to have a “down” week once every 4-6 weeks, depending on how consistent and how intense you’ve gone in the weeks prior.  Down weeks may be eliminating workouts all-together, reducing the volume, frequency, and/or intensity for that week, or changing up your modes of exercise for a week (swimming, hiking, biking, etc.).  Yeah, you may be a little sore when you return to your regularly scheduled programming, but worry not, you haven’t lost any of the “fitness” you’ve been working so hard to gain… in fact the time off will allow your body to recover and you’ll likely see some of your best performances soon after a down week.

Post to comments your challenges with staying consistent, and/or things you’ve found to help you stay consistent.

Listed below are some of the archive posts from the early days.  Or you can view them all as they are still posted on the old site: http://hioctanefitness.blogspot.com

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Pig wrapped in pig!

Who said you can’t eat good while on vacation? Last weekend, while Brother Don was in town we headed to Lake Tahoe to do some snowboarding. Which by the way, if you are staying in South Lake Tahoe, i highly recommend the Marriott Timber Lodge, at the base of the gondola (the steep discount for Marriott employees made it quite affordable). Keep in mind, the fireplace, which appears to be a gas fireplace, is actually some sort of crazy optical illusion, not fire at all. We found this out the hard way after trying to dry our wet snowboard boots by placing them near the “fireplace”.

Anyway, the nice thing about this location was that it had a kitchen, and therefore we cooked our meals. This one in particular was our favorite:
All-natural rosemary pork chop wrapped in bacon, with a side of organic mangoes, organic fuji apple, and raw pecans.
While vegetables are usually a more nutritious side than fruits, and contain less sugar, sometimes fruit is just a tastier compliment to the dish, such was the case with this pork chop and it’s strip of salty bacon.

Ingredients:
6oz. All-natural pork chop
1 slice of bacon (no nitrates or nitrites)
1 rosemary sprig
1 organic fuji apple
1/2 cup of organic mangoes (frozen)
1/3 cup of raw pecans

Directions:
Set oven to broil – pre-heat to 400 degrees
Cook pork chop about 10-12 minutes on each side for medium rare – to medium
Slice apples
Serve

Nutritional Info:
Calories: 730
Fat: 40
Protein: 53
Carbs: 44

For those of you on the Zone, this is 7 protein blocks and 5 carb blocks. More than recommend for most people, so just cut down the portions if are smaller or less active.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Go Team!

Wednesday evening’s class was a team workout that matched up Team Veach (Brad & Bryer (pictured above)) with a younger, but less experienced team of Kristen and Jeff. The workout consisted of copious amounts of wall balls, rowing, thrusters, situps, burpees and running. Team Veach, who are now becoming consistent morning and evening Sweat Shop workers, crushed this workout, taking first place. Brad and Bryer have also been making some serious changes to their diet, eliminating processed foods, reducing grains and sugar, and increasing vegetables and lean meats. Their dietary changes have not only affected their weight and body fat, but it’s also had a direct effect on their performance during the workouts. They are even doing the WOD (workout of the day) from the CrossFit.com website some days where they aren’t able to make it to the Sweat Shop. Great work you guys, keep it up!

Friday, February 20, 2009

Thanks!

I sent this message out to those that were in the 6am class on President’s Day, but it really applies to all of my clients.

And as a reminder, there will be no CrossFit Sweat Shop classes on Monday 2/23 (morning or evening) or Tuesday 2/24. Classes will resume on Wednesday morning at 6am.

Brother Don (he is my brother, not a brother in the church title, nor is he a brotha; this is his title b/c my best friend from back home is also named Don) is coming into town from Atlanta and we’ll be heading up to Tahoe to do some snowboarding.

If you want a workout for this weekend try this one out:

750 Meter Row
40 Dumbbell Swings (like Kettlebell swings, only with dumbbell)
20 Squats
10 Pullups (or assisted pullups)

500 Meter Row
25 Dumbbell Swings
40 Squats
20 Pullups

250 Meter Row
10 Dumbbell Swings
80 Squats
30 Pullups

Lastly, big props to the 6am crew this morning. It was a grueling workout, no smiley faces, but you guys got through it. Cameron E. finished with the fastest time. Cameron is also the first in the CrossFit Sweat Shop crew to dive into the Zone Diet, and he’s serious about it! He has been doing it for a couple of weeks now and he is even weighing and measuring is food (this is super important and necessary, but only for the first two weeks or so, after that you’ll have a good idea of portion size and won’t need to WAM). Not only will his improved nutrition help him reach his body composition goals, it will also help him dominate the workouts, as he demonstrated today.

Have a great weekend everyone, and if make it into the gym over the weekend to do a workout…… CRUSH IT!!

Posted by Nabil at 10:08 AM 3 comments

Monday, February 16, 2009

Get back to the basics!

Meat, vegetables, nuts… this should account for the majority of you daily food intake.

Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 12 min

Ingredients:
Entree:
Grass Fed Sirloin
Asparagus
Red Bell Pepper

Salad:
Mixed Greens
Kidney Beans
Garbanzo Beans
Blackberries
Blueberries
Pecan Pieces
Vinaigrette Dressing
1/2 Avocado on the side (not shown)

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Kettlebells

To date, 4,382 lives have been saved by kettlebells simply because of their soothing pink vinyl shell gives them a less frightening, more approachable look.

Posted by Nabil at 9:42 PM 1 comments

Monday, February 9, 2009

Post workout trauma

Posted by Nabil at 9:34 PM 0 comments

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Round after round after round after round…..

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Future monster!

Big props to future CrossFit Sweat Shop monster, Stefan. At 11 years old and weighing only 84 pounds, Stefan got a new PR (personal record) of 52lbs. on Hang Squat Cleans this past Tuesday! Hang Squat Cleans start just above the knee (the Hang), the weight is then accelerated up with an explosive hip extension, immediately followed by a full squat as the weight comes to rest in the front squat or “rack” position (hence the name Squat Cleans). Most of the cleans we do in the CrossFit Sweat Shop classes are done with either dumbbells or medicine balls, this is a great way to learn, and it’s also necessary when group size is large, and equipment is limited as it is at ClubSport. Stefan learned how to clean with dumbbells and has just recently moved to using a bar. With just a couple of sessions under his belt, Stefan is already cleaning 2/3′s his body weight, with EXCELLENT form! With technique like this so early on, there is no telling what he’ll be capable of in the coming years. Keep up the great work Stefan!

As I’ve said many times before, if I were sentenced to a life of only being allowed to do ONE exercise, it would be the mother of all movements, THE SQUAT CLEAN!

For those of you who don’t know what a Hang Squat Clean is, here is a video compliments of CrossFit Old Town – Alexandria, VA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkJhUg0qUWw

Saturday, January 31, 2009

Fruit Smoothie Snack/Meal (Carbs & Fat Only)

Let me know if anyone has found Coconut Milk in the full fat variety. So far I’ve only found the light.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

‘G’ is for Gets it done!

Congrats to Sarah G. for opening her restaurant (East Coast Pizza Bar & Grill) and having a very successful grand opening party! Not only do they offer great pizza and calzones, they also prepared some delicious bruschetta with some super fresh ingredients.

Sarah was also getting it done last week as she had the fastest time on

followed by, 2 Rounds of:
20 Pullups
20 KB Swings @26#
10 Summo Deadlift Hi-Pull
10ea. Walking Lunges
3 Laps Run

Nice work Sarah! Hopefully the new restaurant won’t completely consume you and you’ll be able to still make a couple of classes a week.

Posted by Nabil at 12:40 PM 2 comments

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

East Coast Pizza Grand Opening!

Posted by Nabil at 4:58 PM 9 comments

 

 

 

 

 

Monday, January 19, 2009

11 Best Foods You Aren’t Eating

According to the New York Times here is the list:

1. Beets

2. Cabbage

3. Swiss Chard

4. Cinnamon

5. Pomegrannate Juice

6. Dried Plums

7. Pumpkin Seeds

8. Sardines

9. Turmeric

10. Frozen Blueberries

11. Canned Pumpkin

Read the full article here, which includes details on each item, and best ways to prepare them.

Post to comments:

a.) which ones you do and don’t eat.

b.) which ones you are no going to try and incorporate into your diet.

Posted by Nabil at 6:38 PM 8 comments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

 

Squat, Pushup, Run Ladder

 

Ladder Workout

One goes up, one goes down, one goes down then up again.

Here is the workout:
Start to finish, as quickly as possible, rest only as needed

5 Laps Run (around gym)

50 Squats

10 Pushups

4 Laps Run

40 Squats

20 Pushups

3 Laps Run

30 Squats

30 Pushups

4 Laps Run

20 Squats

40 Pushups

5 Laps Run

10 Squats

50 Pushups

Fastest Male Time:

Enrique 16:36

Fastest Female Time:

Sara K. 17:07

 

 

 

Monday, January 5, 2009

Snack #1

So it seems a lot of you are having trouble putting together healthy snacks. Just like the meal ideas I post, the snacks I’ll give are simple and easy to pack.

 

2 oz. of sliced pastrami
1/2 red bell pepper(raw)
4 broccoli spears (raw)
1/3 apple
~16 almonds (raw)

 

MAKE SURE the meat is uncured and has no nitrates or nitrites added! If it doesn’t clearly state all of this on the label, DON’T BUY IT, DON’T EAT IT, STAY AWAY FROM IT! You can buy this type of sandwich meat at Whole Foods or Trader Joe, if you are not able to get it, replace the sandwich meat with meat you cook yourself (perhaps the night before, beef, chicken, etc.) Meat you cook yourself will likely always be better than sandwich meat, but for ease of snacks, sandwich meat can be used as long as it follows the guidelines above.

These items are NOT just thrown together randomly. As always the proper ratio of carbs and protein is CRITICAL to controlling your blood sugar! So don’t mess with the portions, however, if you aren’t super active you can reduce the almonds (fat) in this snack by about half.

This snack takes about 90 seconds to prep and aside from the apple slices, you can throw it all into one ziplock bag.

Final note on snacks and nutrition in general. Many people will say they don’t like certain items, vegetables, etc. The fact is, if you are unhappy with your appearance or the way you feel or perform you need to make a change to your diet. This may include eating some foods that initially don’t sound as appetizing as pizza. However, I promise you that just like other things that you have acquired a taste for, you can also acquire a taste for veggies and other healthy food items. Who loved the taste of alcohol the first time they tried it?? Probably not too many, but we develop a taste for it because we like how it affects our body. The same is true for veggies, eat them long enough and you’ll develop a taste for them because you will notice how much better you feel when you eat a balanced diet. And unlike alcohol, it is instilled in our DNA to like veggies, however dormant that urge may be. And don’t try to argue if your parents are alcoholics that it’s in your DNA to like alcohol… I’m talking about going way back… caveman DNA!

more snacks to come… stay tuned

 

Posted by Nabil at 9:32 PM 2 comments

 

 

 

 

Monday, December 22, 2008

Whole-grain, the not so Holy Grail.

An article published in the New York Times a few days ago. “People with Type 2 diabetes on a high-fiber diet kept their blood sugar under better control when they ate foods like beans and nuts instead of the recommended whole-grain diet, researchers have found.”

Read the full article here.

When looking at the nutritional information of a food, ingredients are listed from most to least abundant. The second ingredient of Cheerios is modified corn starch, the third ingredient is sugar. Not good.

Post to comments what you typically have for breakfast. Don’t worry I’ll start.

Posted by Nabil at 6:13 PM 12 comments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Steak Fajitas

Fajitas are a quick, easy and tasty way to get a good variety of fresh veggies with some lean meat and not too many carbs.

Ingredients:
Grass Fed Beef (Sirloin)
Bell Peppers
Avocado
Sour Cream
Tomatoes
Cilantro
Mixed Field Greens
Spelt Wheat Tortilla

Pre-heat your grill to med-high heat. Season the beef to your taste. Cut the bell peppers into quarters or thirds (no need to season them or even put any oil on them). Throw the beef and the peppers on the grill. If the meat is average thickness (about an inch) cook about 5-6 minutes on each side for medium rare. While those are cooking chop up a couple of tomatoes, as well a little cilantro. Toss the chopped tomatoes in colander to let the juice drain. Go flip the steak and peppers. For quick and easy guacamole, spoon out 2 ripe avocados, add a spoon full of FULL FAT organic sour cream. Add salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste. Whip it up with a fork. Go get the meat and peppers off the grill. Slice the peppers into smaller strips as well as the beef. Throw it all on a spelt wheat tortilla, and add some mixed field greens. Good luck folding it up.

Nutritional Information:
1 Steak Fajita
(~4-5oz. of beef, 1/3 bell pepper, 2 tablespoons of guacamole, 2 tablespoons tomatoes, 3/4 cup mixed field greens, (1) 8 inch spelt wheat tortilla)

Total Calories 450
Carbs 30
Fat 18
Protein 39

Here is some more info on spelt. You can find it at Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s. It taste just as good if not better than regular wheat and it’s better for you. Trader Joe’s brand has a really tasty one as does Rudi’s Bakery (found at Whole Foods), I don’t really care for the taste of the Ezekiel brand. Try it out, you’ll be surprised!

Posted by Nabil at 2:05 PM 0 comments

   

 

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Thanksgiving Day: Battle of the Ages

What a workout! After abandoning the track at DVC due to it being locked, members of High Octane Fitness, as well as friends, convened at the track at Las Lomas High School in Walnut Creek. Because there were 7 participants, and the workout was a team event, it was necessary for me to do the workout as well. After dividing the group into two teams (based on what I guessed everyone’s fitness level to be) I realized I had also inadvertently divided the group into the 4 youngest on one team, and the 4 oldest on the other team. Still feeling confident in the fitness levels of the older group, we continued with the teams as such.

Team Youth
Sarah G.
Enrique
Aaron
Nabil
Total Age ~118 years

Team Wisdom
Lones
Mike
Veronica
Chris
Total Age ~195 years

Here is the workout:
EACH TEAM must complete the following, IN ANY ORDER, dividing the reps amongst the team HOWEVER they decide. Simply put, in order for the workout to be considered done, the reps listed below must be completed by each team; the order, as well as which teammate does which exercise and how many each teammate does individually is up to each team.

400 meter run (1 lap around the track) x 6 laps
Squats x 800 reps!
Dumbbell Swings (35lbs.) x 300 reps
Situps x 400 reps
Burpees x 400 reps
Pushups x 350 reps
Medicine Ball Throw (16lbs.) (1 round trip = 220 meters ) x 4 round trips!

Amazingly for such a lengthy workout with so many variables and different plans of attack it came down to a difference of less than 10 seconds between the winning team and the losing team. Finishing in a time of 37:22, I’m embarrassed to say, Wisdom beat Youth.
For those of you doing the math this averages out for each person doing:

1.5 Laps around the track
200 Squats
75 Dumbbell Swings
100 Situps
100 Burpees
88 Pushups
Throwing a wet and slippery 16lb. medicine ball for more than 2 lengths of a football field.

All done in just over 30 minutes, and with no rest periods! AWESOME work everyone! I had fun joining you guys! You’ve definitely earned the right to indulge a bit during your Thanksgiving dinner. As for anyone who just went to the gym, sat on a couple of machines, did some arm curls and maybe even got on a bike or treadmill, perhaps you should re-think what you consider to be “fit”. Do not pass go, do not collect $200.

Posted by Nabil at 2:51 PM 2 comments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

More tuna!

Grilled Ahi w/ Fruit Salsa and Broccolini. Served with avocado and almonds. click on the picture and it gets even bigger and more delicious looking!

An awesome dish that is super fresh and light tasting, yet completely satisfiying at the same time!

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 8-10 minutes

Difficulty: if you have the capacity to purchase these items from the grocery store without injuring yourself, preparing this dish is a breeze!

Ingredients:

6 oz. Ahi

5 oz. Broccolini (approx. 6 spears)

1/2 Red Bell Pepper

1/2 cup Black Berries, Blue Berries, Raspberry Mixture (fresh or frozen)

1/2 cup Mangos (fresh or frozen)

1/2 Lemon

1/2 teaspoon chopped cilantro (fresh)

~12 almonds

1/3 avocado

Combine fruit in a bowl (use frozen fruit if you are lazy, it still retains much of its nutritional value), squeeze lemon over fruit and add freshly chopped cilantro. Mix it up and let it sit while you prepare the other stuff. Drizzle olive oil over the Ahi and the broccolini, season them to your taste (lemon dill seasoning is one of my favorites for fish). I cut the bell pepper into quaters but I don’t add any seasoning b/c they have such a great flavor (especially the red, yellow, and orange ones). Heat the grill to med-high heat and throw the Ahi, broccolini and bell pepper on there. After about 3 minutes flip the broccolini and pepper. Wait about another minute and flip the fish. About 2 minutes later the veggies should be done, broccolini should still be firm, peppers should be just a tad soft. Another 2 minutes and the fish should be done too. Don’t over cook it! It should have a slight hint of pink at the center when you pull it off the grill. A few minutes later, when it finally makes it to the table the pink should be pretty much gone, if there is still a hint of pink don’t worry, it’s much better slightly underdone. With sword fish and tuna, if you over cook it just a little it starts getting pretty tough. Cut the bell peppers into smaller squares, throw it in the fruit mix, stir it up and pour it over the fish. Add almonds and 1/3 avocado on the side to give this meal some necessary and healthy fats, as well as giving the dish a complete and dynamic texture. This dish is great with a glass of Pinot Grigio. That’s ONE glass of wine, Lucinda, I’m talking to you sweetie.

Nutritional Information:

Calories: 520

Fat: 17 grams

Protein: 50 grams

Carbs: 50 grams

Monday’s workout was another gut check…. eat too much, check out what’s in your gut!

Starting upstairs:

40 Hanging Knees to Elbow

25 each leg single leg Romanian Deadlift (25# plate)

65 yards walking lunges (men 35# kettlebell, women 20-25# kettlebell)

then immediately down stairs for

8 ROUNDS of:

5 Pushups

10 KettleBell Swings (men 35#, women 20-25#)

20 Situps

Sarah G. totally smashed on this workout posting the quickest time totaling 22:10, Lucinda was right after her though with a time of 22:19. Awesome work ladies. Also there is rumor that Sarah has gotten her first unassisted pullup! Perhaps last Friday’s workout did some good?

Posted by Nabil at 9:18 PM 2 comments