DAY 2

Last night, I had a dream that I eat a TON of ice cream and I was seriously like the last scene from Dodgeball where Ben Stiller is singing "My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard"! Weird. It was a weird mood to get up in... it's that mind-set that "wow. you've given up already?" Since, my waking moment had been quite the otherwise.

Sleep

A little less than 8 hours... a little more if you include the snooze button.

WOD

I had all of my gym clothes with me in the bag. On my way home from work and toward the gym, I decided it would be too much of a time-crunch.

330 - leave work

400 - start "red-shirt" warmup

430-530 - CrossFit class

530-600 - Stretch "my business"... yeah, my lifetime lack of stretching leads to a lot of catch-up

... - drive home, shower, eat, and get ready

630 - At the college

I figured that if anything could give it would be my stretching a.k.a. recovery. If I'm doing ALL of this (everything detailed in this blog) but I skip on my recovery, I would be really missing the point. I'll just do a makeup workout tomorrow (which would've been a Rest Day for me).

MWOD
COUCH-STRETCH - check... I highly recommend this stretch for anyone who sits. ever.

Food/Supplement Log

BREAKFAST
- 2 poached eggs

- 1 oz salmon leftovers

- handful of blueberries

- handful of macadamias

- 16 oz coffee w/ HWC

- Multi-vitamin, Vitamin D, 1 tbsp Fish Oil, 1/2 Tbsp olive leaf complex

- 8 oz water to wash it all down

LUNCH

- 3 lamb burger-in-a-bowl (it's just without the bun. lettuce, tomato, onion, condiments)

- 4 oz blueberries

- 1/3 cup macadamias (when I get in a macadamia mood, watch out!)

- sipped on 30 oz water

- 1 tbsp fish oil, olive leaf complex, 1 Nuun tab

DINNER

Robb Wolf wanted us to have a little Rotisserie Chicken. My magnificent wife one-upped him!

- Crock-Pot duck! I love duck. It might be my Asian roots.

- Broccoli Chips

- little bit of blueberries and macadamia nuts (I know, I'm a addicted!)

- you guessed it - 1 tbsp fish oil

SNACK

- leftover Duck... not many of you get to do that during a college class

- 1/2 cup carrots

- 1/4 almonds

- little bit of orange slices to keep me awake

- 7 Ultra-EPA/DHA tabs = 1 tbsp fish oil... it would be weird to guzzle that in the class.

- Cal-Mag to put me to help me relax when I got home

Notes on the day: If you want to cut fat faster, Robb recommends 1 serving of fruit per day tops, and 1-2 oz of nuts tops. Needs some work, but not too shabby!

AofM

SHINE YOUR SHOES

I grew up around my dad shining his shoes for work all the time (20 years in the Navy), my older sister was in ROTC, Joe was in ROTC and is now in the Navy, I used to work for a 4-diamond resort... so I've seen a shoe or two shined. I love shoes with a good polish. Nothing is more distracting than a nice suit and scuffed up shoes... unless it's white socks.

This was a treat to be honest. It's something about that extreme focus on detail that clears the mind. I had a rough day at work, meetings, phone calls, rushed to get around, then class in the evening. I remember at one point in the day where I was literally shaking in the knees from stress (and maybe my quads were tired from yesterday's WOD). Shining my shoes to a little Frank Sinatra just made it all seem well. Just thinking about times I wore these shoes and the happiness of those days. Barlean's had our most successful year yet, so we threw a ball and had a ball. Some friends got married in the summer and I danced the night away in these shoes; Jenene and I decided to let loose as a celebration of finding out she is pregnant. Christmas party with Barleans'; this party reminds us that we are truly playing a big part in the big picture of health and we are appreciated. At church, Jenene and I dressed up for Christmas candlelight service which is always a delight in itself. I looked at these slick shoes and notice that they are barely broken in. There is more dancing to be done, more good times to be had, and happiness to share. Better thoughts could not have come at a better time, and it's a great way to end a big day.

Stay classy, San Diego.

DAY 1

Starting Point

Weight: 209#

Body Fat: 20% estimated

Pain: On a 1-10, I'd give it a 3. It isn't painful, but the muscles and joints tell me something is wrong there.

AofM

CORE VALUES

ArtOfManliness.com breaks it down pretty well that Core Values are not Goals. Goals are circumstances that we want to come about; Core Values give us the push and direction to get there. It's definitely worth the time to try this out! In order of importance:

1) Wisdom - My favorite book of the Bible is Proverbs because I can always get something out of it. In Proverbs chapter 4, King Solomon writes "Wisdom is supreme (or "the principal thing"; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding." It's a great chapter on how wisdom (which he personifies to his son as a beautiful woman) must be worked hard to attain and never let go. I'm going to be a father in about 3 months. When the storms come and waves come crashing, I want to be like a rock that isn't moved due to circumstance because this is the ground I stand on.

2) Humor - If you know me, then you know that everything that leaves my mouth is said jokingly. I joke harsh, but that's how a son of a sailor and jock shows his love. I believe that when I see two people genuinely laughing, I see two minds connected at a level that is almost sacred and we often take it for granted. It's an art-form really: to take a concept and deliver it through words that literally tickle another person's soul. I love to do nothing more than share a meal and share laughter with friends new and old.

3) Adventure - I was always moving when I was a kid. I would climb trees, build forts, build snowmen, dig tunnels, throw rocks, go fishing and crabbing, and play sports until the sun went down. These are the times that I've felt the most fulfillment. I gotta move! I gotta breathe! I gotta play!

4) Integrity - When I say something, I mean to do it (except in punctuality). In Matthew 5:37, Jesus breaks it down simply to "Simply let your 'Yes' be 'yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond these comes from the evil one. I don't want to over-spiritualize this, but it sounds like Jesus had *ahem* strong feelings about people who said one thing but did another. I mean to under-promise and over-deliver.

5) Discipline - I think when people look at me they might see someone who is pretty disciplined, but I always think I can do better. (Then again, we are our own toughest critic.) I'm not sure where I got my love for discipline, but it may have been from my military father and catholic-school mother. I always want to learn to improve daily. I found an interested quote by Henry Moore that says, "I think in terms of the day's resolutions, not the year's". I believe that when you cease to change yourself for the better, you're stagnant. Ain't nobody like nothing stagnant.

5.5) God - If each of the previous 5 values were separate circles in a Venn Diagram, the "God" circle would include all of these. It's cheesy I know, but you can't really separate God from any of these.

Wisdom: "For the LORD gives wisdom, and from His mouth come knowledge and understanding." - Proverbs 2:6-

Humor: "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." -Proverbs 17:22-

Adventure: "What is the world but God's creation? What is adventure but enjoyment of the Creation and discovering the fingerprint your Creator?" -Yours Truly-

Integrity - We've already seen that Jesus hates liars. ;) And God sees my heart when I offer anything short of the truth.

Discipline - "Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control" -Proverbs 25:28-

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As for my health and fitness discipline, here's what Day 1 looked like. Nothing fascinating unless you could eat the food!

Sleep
8 hours... mmm! Apparently, I drank a LOT of water before I went to bed.

Workout of the Day (WOD)
"Nancy"
15 Overhead Squats (OHS) @ 95# (modified to 15# since I weighted squats HURT)
400m run
5 rounds as fast as possible
Result - 15:10

Mobility WOD (MWOD)
10 min squat hold - CHECK!

Food/Supplement Log
My meals will be pretty accurately what is laid out in Robb Wolf's book.

BREAKFAST
- 2 poached eggs
- 2 chicken sausages
- 1/2 apple
- 16 oz coffee w/ tbsp Heavy Whipping Cream (HWC)
- 8 oz water
- Multi-vitamin, Tbsp of cod liver oil, 1/2 tbsp olive leaf complex

Sipped on 28 oz water before lunch with some electrolytes

LUNCH
- smallish Chicken Fajita Salad (lettuce, diced tomatoes, grilled onions/green peppers, chicken and spices)... I found out that I dont like grilled onions very much. bleh. We'll tweak this recipe.
- Tbsp fish oil mmm!

SNACK
- Large Banana
- 3 oz Chicken w/ mustard (really I grabbed anything to taste)
- 1/2 avocado
- Tbsp fish oil

40 oz more water

POST-WORKOUT
- Mashed Sweet Potatoes (less than a cup)
- Calcium-Magnesium (Cal-Mag) supplement in 8 oz water with a splash of apple juice. shaken not stirred.

DINNER
- 5 oz roasted salmon and pecans
- Roasted Green Beans
- "Side Salad" which means carrot slices to my pregnant wife. no complaints!
- Tbsp fish oil... yeah, what meal is complete without it

"DESSERT"

- 2nd's on salmon 3 oz

- Handful of macadamias for some sort of sustenance
- Cal-Mag in 8 oz water to help me and my muscles relax
- Another Tbsp of fish oil (Why? Because I'm "All Banged Up" and have some serious inflammation)

Notes on the Day:

I only ate about 3/4 of what a CrossFitter my size should eat for healthy muscle maintenance and adequate energy. I think my lack of activity and recently having the flu played a major part in this.

Let the good times roll!

“You were born to win, but to be a winner, you must PLAN to win, PREPARE to win, and EXPECT to win." -Zig Ziglar-

I'll be honest, my current state of fitness has me in a funk. It takes a lot to put me in a funk (outside of driving home through traffic), but I have a lot of little things plus one big thing going on, and its all adding up to make me come to an absolute halt. The long and short of it is that I have a lot of bad business going on in my hip and back, my muscles are tight everywhere, and, with the help of many professionals, I'm sure I have an inflamed S.I. Joint. Picture every time you sit, pick something up or turn in bed, the pain puts a solid grimace on your face.

The inflammation is caused by many things (particularly my negligence) coming together to prohibit me from doing what I love to do... MOVE! The causes have been namely my poor nutrition, poor warmup before a WOD, and a lack of stretching. So with the New Year, my intention is to track my every waking moment when it comes to these areas for my benefit and the benefit (or at least humor) of whoever reads this. My hope is to have some accurate body fat percentages and blood work to help give this some hard facts.

However, I think there is much more in my life that needs some improvement i.e. character. I plan to start of each daily entry with something like Scripture, an encourage phrase, thoughts to ponder (which happen a lot with the coming baby), tips from a book that I'm reading. To start off I'm going to go through something taken from ArtOfManliness.com called "30 Days to a Better Man". I know that reading my daily meals of deli meat, fruit and avocados will have you on the edge of your seat, but you might take away a thing or two from picking my brain.