By now most people understand how important all natural and organic food is.  However, people will often use cost as a reason why not to purchase organic.  Pictured above are a few items I recently received from my friend Ben, sole owner, and general manager of Faulkner Farms.  Actually, it’s not a farm in the traditional sense… Ben just has a vegetable garden at his house in Clayton, along with 2 or 3 chickens (the different breeds of chicken lay different color eggs).  My point is that if you want organic vegetables you can always just grow them yourself for a tiny fraction of the cost to purchase them in the stores.  Growing your own fruits and veggies also allows you to maintain complete control over the products used to cultivate the crops, so you can keep it as pure as you like.  And although raising chickens may be a bit more responsibility than you want, a vegetable garden is not only an easy way to produce your own food, it can also be relaxing and therapeutic…. just don’t let your crops dies, then it becomes stressful and traumatic.

___________________________

Monday’s WOD:

As many rounds as possible in 15 minutes:

3 Squat Cleans
6 Pullups
9 Pushups

inspired by CrossFit Football

results:

There are a few things you can do to surely get noticed in Walnut Creek.  Driving a car that is more than 3 years old is one of them.  Presenting this salad at a summer cookout could be another one.  Although it may seem a little bizarre at first sight, this is a perfect “salad” for a summer gathering. 

Ingredients:

Frozen Chopped Spinach
Olive Oil
Gorgonzola Cheese Crumbles
Fresh Blueberries
Fresh Strawberries
Vinaigrette Salad Dressing

It’s pretty simple.  Saute the spinach with the olive oil (or butter), add salt and pepper to taste, remove from heat, mix in the vinaigrette dressing, cheese, and fruit.  This was a side dish to my tuna burger (which you can see in the bottom left corner of the picture), it would also go great with an herb seasoned grilled chicken breast.  As for the spinach, you could use fresh spinach leaves, but then again you could also buy a car that is way out of your price range and be upside down in 3 years.  Question the norm.

 ________________________

Friday’s WOD:

Qualifier WOD:
500 meter row
30 Burpees
10 Reps Shoulder to Overhead (men 155#, women 85#)

Alternative Workout:

4×4 Repeats (400 meter row, immediately followed by 403 meter run)

(4) 4×4′s Rest exactly 3 minutes after each one

results:

I just wanted to say I am SUPER impressed by everyone who did the qualifier WOD on Friday.  Many of you who aren’t even interested in being on the team still put in a tremendous effort!  The support from others in the gym was great as well.  John and Helen even performed the workout 10lbs. heavier (which is the weight used for the NorCal Qualifiers, back in May of 2009).  Helen, who did the exact same workout at the CrossFit Qualifiers in May improved her time by nearly 2 minutes, from 7:15 to 5:24, that’s a 25% increase in power!  Both John’s super fast time of 4:17, and Helen’s time of 5:24, would have placed each of them in 11th place in all of Northern California for that workout!  Great work you guys.

_________________________

Saturday’s WOD:

Track Workout at Las Lomas

It ended up being a couples team workout consisting of weight plate thrusters (thanks to Coach Miller for letting me in the weight room), 200 meter runs, walking lunges, sand bag carries, sandbag swings, and partner carries among other things.  Sara K. and her husband Tim rolled through the exercises with ease.  Aaron and Levi got points for cutest couple.

Before you say it, I know what you are thinking, “Tuna with raspberry chili sauce…. whaaaaaa??!!”  And perhaps you are right, this isn’t a dish for the mild mannered or unadventurous…. no, this is a culinary Christopher Columbus, a Neil Armstrong of Tuna preparation!

Ingredients:

Frozen Raspberries
Chili Pepper Sauce
Fresh Broccoli
Mango Chunks
Tuna Patty
1 can solid white tuna – drained
1 egg
2 Tablespoons of ground flax seed meal

Directions:

Preheat pan over medium high heat.  Add 1/2 teaspoon of coconut oil.

Drain tuna.  Combine tuna patty ingredients in a small bowl, smash it and whisk it with a fork.  Add salt, pepper and other seasonings to taste.  You should be able to then form the mix it into a patty.  If it is still too flimsy, add a bit more flax seed meal.  Form a patty and throw it in the pan.  Cook for about 4-5 minutes on one side (or as soon as it is firm enough to flip, think pancakes).  Flip it over and turn heat down a bit.  Cook for another 3-4 minutes.  Next, add frozen raspberries to pan, no need to even defrost them.  Add a tablespoon of chili pepper sauce to berries.  Now place the patty on top of the berries while they are still in the pan.  Let it sit for 2 minutes or so, berries will defrost, heat up, and turn into a nice sauce.  Remove patty, top with sauce, serve w/ mango chunks and some broccoli.  Enjoy.  And here, all this time you thought you had discovered something amazing when you were just making tuna sandwiches.

_________________________

Monday’s WOD:

(compare to 4/20/09)

(1) 403 meter run

then 5 Rounds of:

20 Thrusters
20 Situps
15 Pushups
10 Box Jumps

then finish w/ (1) 403 meter run

results:

When it comes to nutrition, staying in the Zone is a key component.  Ideally, you want your meals to be as close to the Zone ratio as possible, 40% Carbs/ 30% Protein / 30% Fat.   

Yogurts come in all shapes and sizes, and most vary in nutritional content.  Depending on what you add to your yogurt, choosing the right one is important if you want to stay in the Zone.  Look for a yogurt (preferably organic) that is high in protein so that when you add fresh fruit to your yogurt it doesn’t create a meal that is too high in carbohydrate.  For comparison, I’ve also included the nutritional information for Yoplait flavored yogurt.  By itself it is already WAY out of balance, add some granola, toast, a glass of OJ, or a bagel to this and you are well on your way to an unhealthy insulin spike. 

As a side note, ALL of the yogurts listed below have roughly the same calorie count… it’s just a matter of where the calories are coming from.

Information on plain yogurt is for serving size of 1 cup (8oz.)

Mountain High: Plain (Whole Milk)
Carbs 17
Protein 11
Fat  8
Ratio = 37/24/39

Trader Joe’s European Style Plain Whole Milk
Carbs 14
Protein 12
Fat 7
Ratio = 34/29/37

Trader Joe’s Greek Style Lowfat Plain 2%
Carbs 9
Protein 24
Fat 3
Ratio = 23/60/17

Fage Total 2%
Carb 9
Protein 19
Fat 4.5
Ratio = 23/50/27

Information for Yopait yogurt is for one container (only 6oz.)

Yoplait Flavored Yogurt

Carbs 33 (sugars 27!)
Protein 5
Fat 1.5
Ratio = 80/12/8

_________________________

Thursday’s WOD:

compare to 4/6/09

4 Rounds:

15 Deadlifts
403 meter run
15 Ring Dips

results:

Props to Sarah G. who increased her deadlift weight by 20 lbs. on this workout, compared to the last time she did it, AND was still able to better her time by about 30 seconds!

Start your morning out right.  Skip the cereal, toast, bagels, or even oatmeal.  Take some plain yogurt, add some fruit, then top with some crumbled nuts to achieve the crunchy texture you would normally get from granola.  Choosing the right yogurt is key as some have very little protein.  In the coming days I’ll break down various yogurt options, but for now stick with whole milk or 2% plain yogurt.  Greek style yogurt will often have a bit more protein and fewer carbs.

Ingredients:

1 cup of 2% Fage Greek Yogurt
1/4 cup of frozen mango chunks
1/4 cup of blueberries
1/3 cup of blackberries
1/4 cup of pecans

Nutritional Information:

Calories  346
Protein  19
Carbs  27
Fat 18

Click here for more information on why grains are bad for you.

___________________

Tuesday’s WOD:

Row 500 meters

then 4 Rounds of:
8 Clean & Jerks
10 Pullups
15 Wall Balls
20 Situps

finish with (1) 200 meter run

results:

Now that Aaron is finally reclaiming some respectable numbers on his dead lift, let’s talk sushi catering.  I recently had lunch at Aaron’s house and was amazed as I watched him assemble these delicious sushi rolls.  Aaron (Hiroshi as he is called by his grandmother) is a sushi chef at Ozumo, and has even designed a roll that is featured on their menu.  Aside from being a sushi chef at arguably one of San Francisco and Oakland’s finest sushi restuarants, Aaron also does sushi catering for events of all sizes.  All the ingredients are fresh, the sauces are made by Aaron, and the fish is picked up the day of and broken down by Aaron himself. 

Aaron’s creativity and flexibility is off the charts!  I simply told him I like fresh cilantro and fresh basil, 10 minutes later we were enjoying the amazing rolls pictured above.

Picture one:
“The Zone Roll” – Cucumber Wrap

Inside: Spicy Tuna, Carrot, Daikon

Top: Maguro (Yellow Fin Tuna), Avocado, Cilantro

Sauce: Chili Aioli and Teriyaki Sauce

 

Picture two on the right side:

Basil Roll

Inside: Real Snow Crab, Avocado, Cucumber

Top: Maguro (Yellow Fin Tuna), Mango, Basil

Sauce: Creamy Teriyaki

For catering details you can contact Aaron at:

 hiroshiscatering@gmail.com

_________________________

Wednesday’s WOD:

start with (1) 403 meter run

 

then 5 Rounds of:

6 Front Squats

8 Pullups

10 Knees to Elbow

12 Box Jumps

 

finish with (1) 403 meter run

 

results:

Here is a tasty dish that was made completely free of electricity.

Rosemary Grilled Chicken
Grilled Pork Tenderloin
Mixed Greens Salad
Grilled Asparagus
Grilled Red Pepper

This past weekend, while my parents were visiting from Atlanta, I was fortunate enough to experience a little of Murphy’s Law. Saturday evening, while getting ready to prepare dinner, the power in my apartment went out. Not too big of a deal, I just moved the ingredients outside, where there was more light, prepared the items and placed them on the grill to cook. About 8 minutes into the process when I went to check on the grilled items, I realized the propane had ran out. No big deal, a propane refill will only take a minute. Unfortunately the gate to my apartment complex was not operating due to the power being out. After a 10 minute wait the maintenance guy came and disassembled part of the gate. By the time I got back and finished cooking the meat it was so dark in my apartment that had to move my table outside so that we could have enough light to eat. Sure we could have just given up right away and gone out to eat, but we didn’t. The moral of the story? 1.) Healthy eating takes a little bit of work, but is well worth it. 2.) If you live in a 4,000 sq/ft home in Contra Costa County, stop running your AC 24/7 when it gets really hot… you’re causing my power to go out!

Saturday’s WOD:

I’ll list it on tomorrow’s post…. but just imagine what it would feel like to carry a 2 year old child for a mile, then try to change the toner in your laser printer while an anger badger nips at your feet, and your head feels like Blue Bomber when he malfunctions and Red Rocker gets a 46 punch combo, uncontested.

Post thoughts to comments section, or don’t.

Two weekends ago, while competing in the Nor Cal qualifiers, I had what you would call a “cheat day(s)”.  My reason for sharing this is not to boast, but to demonstrate that if you eat really good 95% of the time, it’s ok to cheat every now and again.  Because I’ve learned to enjoy many healthy food items, I rarely crave most junk food items.  However, on this particular weekend, the combination of little preparation to ensure I had my normal food items, going much longer than I normally do between meals, and the junk food items being readily available, all combined in just the right combination for an apocalyptic binge that I haven’t experienced since the days of cutting weight for wrestling.

During the course of two days, IN ADDITION TO my normal meals, of which I would consider healthy food items, I also had:

12 Large homemade chocolate chip cookies (3 of which were devoured in a cookie sandwich: one cookie in the middle, sandwiched between two more cookies!… completely eaten during a 40 second elevator ride!)  Pure deliciousness!

2 Cokes (while waiting for dinner on Saturday night.  first time I’ve had any in a couple of years.  Bubbles, sugar, and caffeine… what a fantastic combo!

8 Sausages (salty, greasy, and made with mysterious animal parts… scrumptious!!)

2 bowls of ice cream (one of them was topped with some of the chocolate chip cookies listed above)  Amazing! 

I was rewarded with a splitting headache on Sunday, and a strong feeling of nausea after completing the workout.  My point is, even with two days of horrible eating habits I didn’t gain any measurable weight… the reason for this is the other 95% of the time is healthy eating.  Another effect of binge junk food eating (if done sporadically enough) is that the negative feedback you get after eating it (i.e. you feel like crap), is a good reinforcement tool for eating healthy.  The KEY here is that you have to be eating really healthy to notice the difference, Subway, fat free Yoplait yogurt, and Jamba Juice smoothies is not considered healthy eating.

Post your guilty pleasures to the comment section.  (Food related only please.)

Tuesday’s WOD:

2 Rounds:

400 meter row
20 KB Swings
10 Knees to Elbow
15 Wall Balls
Run 403 meters
20 KB Swings
10 Knees to Elbow
15 Wall Ball

results:

Here’s a delicious and quick lunch that is light, yet filling.  You won’t feel super stuffed afterwards, but it will be hours before you are hungry again.  Variety of foods is key, but there are some that I eat much more frequently than others, these are my favorites and I just prepare them differently or just use different seasonings.

 Ingredients:

1 can of Solid White Tuna
1.5 Tablespoons of Canola Maynonaise
1 Cup of Mangos
1 Red Bell Pepper (grilled)
4-5 Asparagus Spears (grilled)

Opting for solid white tuna is key!  If you are purchasing light, or chunk light tuna and you are wondering why you hate tuna, wonder no more.  You are no longer in college, and despite what CNN says, this is not the Great Depression, spend the few extra cents and purchase the solid white tuna.

Nutritional Info:

Calories 450
Protein 32
Total Fat 20 (saturated fat- less than 1 gram)
Carbs 31

Wednesday’s WOD:

Overhead Squats
5-5-5-5-5

Pullups or Rope Climb
5-5-5-5-5

Mike S. (as in Mike’s Drinks) sent in this pic of his dinner.  Quick, simple, healthy, and delicious.  Salad dressing provided the fat for this meal.  Best part about it, no Coors Lights to be found!  Keep up the good work Mike!

Mike has committed to eating and drinking healthy for the next 6 weeks.  Post your support for Mike in the comments section.

Wednesday’s WOD:

As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes:

15 KB Swings
12 Walking Lunges w/ KB
10 Push Press w/ KB
8 Ring Rows

Big props to Don B. for ending the day by doing this workout all by himself.  This format workout is really tough to push yourself when you are the only one doing it.  Don went 100% for 20 minutes,… nice job!

Clients keep asking me what they should eat.  A quick answer would be; Vegetables and fruits, lean meats, nuts and seeds, little starch, no sugar.  Here’s what I get in a  typical trip to Trader Joe’s. 

Carbs:
Asparagus
Bell Peppers
Apples
Frozen Mangos
Frozen Blueberries
Mixed Greens
Dried Cranberries
Fresh Raspberries
Fresh Blackberries
Black Beans

Protein:
Greek Yogurt
Patrami
Eggs
European Yogurt
Top Sirloin Filet
Frozen Sword Fish
Frozen Ahi
Frozen Mahi
Lowfat cottage cheese (haven’t been able to find full fat organic)

Fat:
Raw Almonds
Raw Pecans
Walnuts
Avocados
Peanut Butter

Remember, if your nutrition isn’t dialed in, it doesn’t matter how hard you train, you will have GREAT difficulty changing your body composition.  Your performance during the workouts will also be limited if you are trying to perform at a high level, yet you continue to fuel your body with low grade nutrients.

A nice little summary of proper nutrition can be found here.

Tuesday’s WOD:

21-15-9 (reps, alternating b/t two exercises before moving on to (1) 403m run)
Shoulder Press
Knees to Elbow

Run 403 meters

21-15-9
KB swings
Wall Balls

Run 403 meters

21-15-9
Summo Deadlift High Pull
Box Jumps

The weather is getting nice again, if you have a grill use it!  If you don’t, you should be ashamed of yourself.  It doesn’t get much easier than this dish, here’s what we’ve got:

8oz. of fresh mahi mahi
1/2 canteloupe
1/2 avocado
1 cup of mix veggies (broccoli and carrots)

Pre-heat your grill.  Drizzle olive oil on the fish, then season it with salt, lemon pepper, and perhaps a little minced garlic.  Wrap the veggies in some foil with a little bit of water along with some salt and pepper.  Turn the heat down to medium, then put the fish and veggies on the grill.  Depending on the thickness, about 5 minutes on each side and the fish is done, the veggies will still have quite a bit of crunch to them at this point (which isn’t a bad thing), leave them on a few minutes longer if desire them a little softer.  While the fish and veggies cook, slice an avocado and the cantaloupe.  This meal takes 20 minutes or less, start to finish, and the biggest clean up is the “brain matter” from the cantaloupe.

Nutritional Info

(remember, this is not an exact amount, I ONLY factor in the protein from the fish, the carbs from the fruits and veggies, and the fat from the avocado!  This is because these are what each of these foods primarily contain, yes there is a little protein in the avocado and there is a little fat in the mahi, but you’ll drive yourself crazy if you try and count each nutrient from each food… determine if the food is primarily protein, fat, or carb, then count only that nutrient)

Protein 53
Carbs 35
Fat 13

If you notice, most of my meals aren’t in exact Zone proportions (7 grams of protein for every 9 grams of carbohydrate).  Personally I’ve found that a reduction in carbs and an increase in fat (plant source) keeps my energy higher, keeps me feeling full longer, and keeps my insulin levels more consistent (avoiding the surges and crashes that make you feel lathargic shortly after a meal), which in turn has resulted in a decrease in body fat.  I can attribute this in part to my diet because relative to when I would train for triathlons, I was eating very high amounts of carbs and doing between 2 and 6 hours of cardio a day.  Now I don’t do any long cardio sessions, only short high intensity CrossFit workouts, and my body fat has dropped by several percentage points.  I would recommend starting with exact Zone proportions, then start tweaking a little to find what works best for you.

Today’s WOD

4 Rounds

15 Deadlifts
403 meter run
15 ring dips 

So far Rob P. has the fastest time for the men, and Lones has the fastest time for the women at the Rx’d dead lift weight.

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.

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