If you have ever done any rock climbing - indoors or outdoors - you will appreciate this video. These guys truly defy gravity. It looks like they are crawling top speed on the ground and not vertically up a wall. Amazing!
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Monday, January 9, 2012
Gluten-free Paleo Egg, Bacon, Guacamole Pure Wrap
Happy New Year! This is my first post of 2012. I came up with many things to write about over the holidays but just haven't had the time until now to sit down and get all my thoughts together.
January is the traditional month of weight loss resolutions so I thought I would share a simple gluten-free wrap recipe that my wife and I both love. As a side note, I am not on the paleo diet but I am definitely trying to cut out gluten as much as possible.
You might be wondering how can a wrap be gluten-free and acceptable for the paleo diet? I found this bread through the Whole 30 program that I stumbled upon through Facebook. The Whole 30 program endorses the product so I thought I would try it. It is called Pure Wraps and is available at improveat.com. It has only three raw ingredients - coconut meat, coconut water, and Himalayan salt and each wrap has only 60 calories and only 8 grams of carbs. Those 60 calories are amazingly nutrient dense.
The wrap looks like a thin square piece of light brown paper and I was skeptical at first that it would taste like cardboard but after only a few bites I enjoyed the texture and the coconut flavor. It gives you a "bread fix" without the guilt of processed carbs. After my first order I was hooked and ordered a dozen packages to get the free shipping. Each package of 4 wraps is $4.99. It is not cheap but it will get eaten and not thrown out. My wife and I go through a pack every 3 to 5 days. The coconut flavor is not that strong but it is present so if you are not a coconut fan you might not like it as much as I do but may still want to try it especially if you are watching your diet or trying to go gluten-free. They also have a curry flavor but I haven't tried that yet.
Okay, so enough about the wrap bread itself and on to the rest of the recipe:
Simply spread one 100 calorie pack of Wholly Guacamole on the pure wrap or make your own guacamole and spread that or simply add a few slices of avocado. Scramble some eggs - two extra large eggs are perfect for the wrap (I scramble mine in clarified butter (ghee) or coconut oil). Cook up two pieces of Uncured turkey bacon. I cook the bacon in my table top convection oven. Optionally, I add some baby lettuce and some hot peppers. Put the all the ingredients on the wrap and enjoy.
Here is a picture of the wrap - couldn't wait to have it for lunch today:
So that's a wrap. Yes, that is lame but I couldn't resist. Leave comments if you give Pure Wraps a try.
January is the traditional month of weight loss resolutions so I thought I would share a simple gluten-free wrap recipe that my wife and I both love. As a side note, I am not on the paleo diet but I am definitely trying to cut out gluten as much as possible.
You might be wondering how can a wrap be gluten-free and acceptable for the paleo diet? I found this bread through the Whole 30 program that I stumbled upon through Facebook. The Whole 30 program endorses the product so I thought I would try it. It is called Pure Wraps and is available at improveat.com. It has only three raw ingredients - coconut meat, coconut water, and Himalayan salt and each wrap has only 60 calories and only 8 grams of carbs. Those 60 calories are amazingly nutrient dense.
The wrap looks like a thin square piece of light brown paper and I was skeptical at first that it would taste like cardboard but after only a few bites I enjoyed the texture and the coconut flavor. It gives you a "bread fix" without the guilt of processed carbs. After my first order I was hooked and ordered a dozen packages to get the free shipping. Each package of 4 wraps is $4.99. It is not cheap but it will get eaten and not thrown out. My wife and I go through a pack every 3 to 5 days. The coconut flavor is not that strong but it is present so if you are not a coconut fan you might not like it as much as I do but may still want to try it especially if you are watching your diet or trying to go gluten-free. They also have a curry flavor but I haven't tried that yet.
Okay, so enough about the wrap bread itself and on to the rest of the recipe:
Simply spread one 100 calorie pack of Wholly Guacamole on the pure wrap or make your own guacamole and spread that or simply add a few slices of avocado. Scramble some eggs - two extra large eggs are perfect for the wrap (I scramble mine in clarified butter (ghee) or coconut oil). Cook up two pieces of Uncured turkey bacon. I cook the bacon in my table top convection oven. Optionally, I add some baby lettuce and some hot peppers. Put the all the ingredients on the wrap and enjoy.
Here is a picture of the wrap - couldn't wait to have it for lunch today:
So that's a wrap. Yes, that is lame but I couldn't resist. Leave comments if you give Pure Wraps a try.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Hindu and Divebomber Pushup Variations
If you are looking to add more variety to your workouts and you are bored with pushups - try these divebomber and hindu variations from Paul Zaichik from Bodyweight Culture. Great video...
Friday, December 9, 2011
Top 5 Bodyweight Exercises
For those of you who think you need an expensive gym membership or need to spend hours in the gym to get a good workout check out this video. Most of the exercises involve burpees. There is simply no better exercise than burpees to get your heart pumping without having to spend a dime on extra equipment.
Don't believe me, try a burpee-only tabata - 4 minutes (20 seconds on and 10 seconds of rest) or try my favorite high intensity intervals - 30 seconds of work and 15 seconds of rest for as long as you can go. I guarantee you that it will kick your butt!
What? Don't have time for 4 minutes? Sure you do. You just spend too much time on excuses!
Don't believe me, try a burpee-only tabata - 4 minutes (20 seconds on and 10 seconds of rest) or try my favorite high intensity intervals - 30 seconds of work and 15 seconds of rest for as long as you can go. I guarantee you that it will kick your butt!
What? Don't have time for 4 minutes? Sure you do. You just spend too much time on excuses!
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Losing The Thanksgiving Weight Update
Another good morning on the scale. I weighed 181.8 upon waking and paying a visit to the bathroom. I had the same breakfast for the last three days and had the same dinner that I had on Monday but this time I added a small portion of lentils seasoned with my very tasty mixture of ghee, lemon, Himalayan salt, black pepper, garlic and basil. I had lunch at Qdoba opting for a naked burrito with black and pinto beans, chicken, red and green peppers, onions, guacamole, lettuce and extra hot salsa. Again I did not snack on anything sugary.
I did work out last night doing 24 30 second intervals with 15 second rest intervals in between using primarily the airdyne bike, jump rope, and the Bulgarian training bag. I drank only water throughout the day but had a single size container of coconut water right after my workout.
So to sum up...I lost 5.6 pounds in two days. I am back to the weight I was just before Thanksgiving but would like to be in the area of 175 in the next week or so and maintain that. So far...so good!
I did work out last night doing 24 30 second intervals with 15 second rest intervals in between using primarily the airdyne bike, jump rope, and the Bulgarian training bag. I drank only water throughout the day but had a single size container of coconut water right after my workout.
So to sum up...I lost 5.6 pounds in two days. I am back to the weight I was just before Thanksgiving but would like to be in the area of 175 in the next week or so and maintain that. So far...so good!
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Cutting The Thanksgiving Weight
Another Thanksgiving has come and gone. I spent it in the mountains of Tennessee with family and friends in Sevierville/Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area - the home of Dollywood. We did some brief hiking with the kids in the Great Smokey Mountains and I did squeek in a couple of very short bodyweight tabatas - a six minute one on Friday with nothing but burpees - and an eight minute one on Saturday mixing burpees with lunges and air squats.
I ate with reckless abandon during the 5 day trip and was not surprised that the hiking and tabatas did not do much to keep my weight at bay. When I weighed myself upon waking up yesterday (Monday) morning on my home scale I weighed 187.4 lbs. My Tanita scale gave me a 15.5 reading on bodyfat so I was not terribly alarmed. My weight has been creeping up since early last February. My diet has been less than stellar this year as I had my share of ice cream, cake and other indulgences and kept my portion sizes rather high. I also have not participated in any organized races since I ran a 9 mile trail race back in January at the US National Whitewater Center. I have been training consistently all year but not as hard as when I am training for events. When you put all these factors together, my weight has climbed from the mid-160s to the current 187.4 peak of yesterday morning.
I decided yesterday that the weight gain is now over and I am going to clean things up. This morning's visit to the scale was encouraging - My weight was down 3.4 pounds to 184.0. Yesterday I did not do a workout. I did walk briskly from my car to the office and back to my car - about a 1/2 mile each way - carrying my laptop but it wasn't what I call a workout.
The trick to the weight loss was my diet. I have found as I get deeper into my 40s that diet is more important than exercise when trying to lose weight. That is not to say that exercise is not important. As I mentioned, my diet has been less than perfect and I have been exercising consistently. I still gained weight but I have been able to maintain healthy bodyfat levels. Had I not been exercising the wieght gain would have been more profound. My biggest isue is that it is way too easy to overeat and it is too easy to eat bad foods.
Rather than a massive breakfast I ate:
A small bowl of raw almonds, walnuts, pecans, brazil nuts, hemp seed, chia seed, raisins, coconut flakes, maple syrup, cinnamon and unsweetened vanilla almond milk. The nuts were no more than a small handful and the hemp seed was two tablespoons. The chia was two scoops. I add a small amount of raisins, maple syrup, cinnamon and coconut flakes for flavor. Without these four items, the flavor is rather bland. I try to avoid sugar at all costs when trying to drop weight but will use small amounts just to stay sane.
For lunch I had a large salad from Blynk Organic. Their salads cost just over $10 when you include a protein - my choice is usually chicken. They have a great variety of veggies and fruit that you can put in your salad. My salad was topped with a tasty Raspberry Pomegranite Vinagrette dressing and had a colorful mixture of baby greens, spinach, pineapple, celery, almonds, onions, olives, grapes amongst other things.
I did not snack at all between breakfast and lunch or between lunch and dinner - nor did snack after dinner.
For dinner I had another salad at home topped with chunky mango salsa with a fairly large boneless chicken breast in some Gator hot sauce. I mixed up the greens and my usual assortment of nuts in black pepper infused olive oil and strawberry infused vinegar. I will have an upcoming post on infused oils and vinegars as that makes eating salads much more exciting.
The three square meals were it for the day. I do have to add I do take a tablespoon of Carlson's Cod liver oil and also take Magnesium and Vitamin D supplements after my breakfast and sip water throughout the day. I plan to eat similarly today. Thus far my breakfast today was identical to yesterday. For myself, salads are definitely the key to keeping my weight in check. I recommend keeping the salads clean and don't add cheese, processed bacon bits or thick processed dressings that contain questionable oils - just add a lean protein.
I will post my weight tomorrow with an update.
I ate with reckless abandon during the 5 day trip and was not surprised that the hiking and tabatas did not do much to keep my weight at bay. When I weighed myself upon waking up yesterday (Monday) morning on my home scale I weighed 187.4 lbs. My Tanita scale gave me a 15.5 reading on bodyfat so I was not terribly alarmed. My weight has been creeping up since early last February. My diet has been less than stellar this year as I had my share of ice cream, cake and other indulgences and kept my portion sizes rather high. I also have not participated in any organized races since I ran a 9 mile trail race back in January at the US National Whitewater Center. I have been training consistently all year but not as hard as when I am training for events. When you put all these factors together, my weight has climbed from the mid-160s to the current 187.4 peak of yesterday morning.
I decided yesterday that the weight gain is now over and I am going to clean things up. This morning's visit to the scale was encouraging - My weight was down 3.4 pounds to 184.0. Yesterday I did not do a workout. I did walk briskly from my car to the office and back to my car - about a 1/2 mile each way - carrying my laptop but it wasn't what I call a workout.
The trick to the weight loss was my diet. I have found as I get deeper into my 40s that diet is more important than exercise when trying to lose weight. That is not to say that exercise is not important. As I mentioned, my diet has been less than perfect and I have been exercising consistently. I still gained weight but I have been able to maintain healthy bodyfat levels. Had I not been exercising the wieght gain would have been more profound. My biggest isue is that it is way too easy to overeat and it is too easy to eat bad foods.
Rather than a massive breakfast I ate:
A small bowl of raw almonds, walnuts, pecans, brazil nuts, hemp seed, chia seed, raisins, coconut flakes, maple syrup, cinnamon and unsweetened vanilla almond milk. The nuts were no more than a small handful and the hemp seed was two tablespoons. The chia was two scoops. I add a small amount of raisins, maple syrup, cinnamon and coconut flakes for flavor. Without these four items, the flavor is rather bland. I try to avoid sugar at all costs when trying to drop weight but will use small amounts just to stay sane.
For lunch I had a large salad from Blynk Organic. Their salads cost just over $10 when you include a protein - my choice is usually chicken. They have a great variety of veggies and fruit that you can put in your salad. My salad was topped with a tasty Raspberry Pomegranite Vinagrette dressing and had a colorful mixture of baby greens, spinach, pineapple, celery, almonds, onions, olives, grapes amongst other things.
I did not snack at all between breakfast and lunch or between lunch and dinner - nor did snack after dinner.
For dinner I had another salad at home topped with chunky mango salsa with a fairly large boneless chicken breast in some Gator hot sauce. I mixed up the greens and my usual assortment of nuts in black pepper infused olive oil and strawberry infused vinegar. I will have an upcoming post on infused oils and vinegars as that makes eating salads much more exciting.
The three square meals were it for the day. I do have to add I do take a tablespoon of Carlson's Cod liver oil and also take Magnesium and Vitamin D supplements after my breakfast and sip water throughout the day. I plan to eat similarly today. Thus far my breakfast today was identical to yesterday. For myself, salads are definitely the key to keeping my weight in check. I recommend keeping the salads clean and don't add cheese, processed bacon bits or thick processed dressings that contain questionable oils - just add a lean protein.
I will post my weight tomorrow with an update.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
The Schwinn Airdyne Bike
In my previous post I posted a top five wishlist of fitness items that I have been wanting to buy. One item on that list was the Schwinn Airdyne bike. I am happy to report that I can cross it off the list as I picked one up on Craigslist for $150 last week. It is about 4 years old but in like-new condition. I will be using it primarily for intense interval training but I found this video that demonstrates ways to use the bike in ways I would never have thought of to get a full body workout. Enjoy!
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