Optimum Anabolics - Day 84/Roger Staubach

Today marks the end of Week 12 for me on the Optimum Anabolics program.

12 happens to be the jersey number of my all-time favorite QB, Roger Staubach. My man had more concussions than rushing yards but boy could he throw a football. More importantly, however, he was a leader.

Random, crazy factoid for the day...yours truly "conga"-ed behind Roger at a wedding in Dallas around the time I graduated from college. Too bad there were no iPhones or YouTube back then! (~:

MEASUREMENTS:

Weight: 185.0 LBS (UP 2.5 LBS for week, UP 5.5 LBS total)
BF: 9.5% (according to the calipers I have) (NO CHANGE for week, UP 1.4% total)
Neck: 16-1/4" (UP 1/4" for week, UP 3/4" total)
Chest: 40" (UP 1/4 for week, UP 1/2" total)
Shoulders: 47" (DOWN 1/2" for the week, DOWN 1/2" total)
Biceps: 13-3/4" (UP 1/4" for week, UP 1/4" total)
Waist: 33-1/2" (UP 1/2" for week, UP 3/4" total)
Thighs: 20" (NO CHANGE for week, UP 1/4" total)
Calves: 15-1/4" (UP 1/4" for week, UP 1/4" total)
Adonis Effect: 1.403 (DOWN 0.036 for the week, DOWN 0.010 total)



















































WORKOUT - CARDIO (HIGH INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING)

This morning's intervals were done on the stationary bike for 28 minutes.

Flying Romans were done for time (30 seconds) today rather than repetitions.

Here are today's Flying Roman results (3 intervals):

• 32 (16 per leg)
  
• 34 (17 per leg)
  
• 33 (17 one leg, 16 the other)

Comments:

Not much soreness to speak of today...just a some stiffness here and there.

Left heel is still sore and I'm still favoring it for the most part. However, walking actually felt normal at times today.

Calves and feet got stretched for 1 minute per side today. I'm also incorporating some hamstring stretches by sitting on the floor with legs out and grabbing my feet. The objective is to try and loosen up my entire leg musculature.

DIET - HIGH PROTEIN (PLUS 1)

Breakfast, post interval training, was a 2 egg white, 1 whole egg omelet with red and jalapeno peppers and red onion sauteed in coconut oil. I topped 'er off with an ounce of raw, grass fed cheddar cheese and a big spoonful of leftover chili. Look out!

Snack this morning was 1/2 c of yogurt, 4 tsp ground flax seed and 1/3 scoop of plain whey protein isolate powder.

Come lunch time, I opted for another hunk of tahini meatloaf preceded by a Hugh Jass salad of spinach, arugula, carrots, tomato, cucumber, celery, fresh parsley, yellow pepper, and scallions. I dressed it up with a mix of almond butter, chili powder, lemon juice, and milk. Sounds strange, I know, but it was terrific.

Optimum Anabolics - Day 83/3D Abs??

Here is some great information from my good friend, Jeff Anderson, talking about how to do some good ab sculpting while working out. It's important to note that while endless sets of crunches are definitely NOT necessary for excellent abs, it is beneficial to work them out as part of your routine.

Read on!

Check out any local gym and you'll see inexperienced members training their abs with endless sets of situps and crunches, right?

While the abs are predominantly made of Type 1 (endurance) muscle fibers and respond to slightly higher repetition ranges,your abs are made up of muscle just like any other part of your body.

Therefore the best abs exercises to get that "cut" look are those that are resistance-based and treat them like any other muscle.

But there's a special little trick you must know in order to maximize your abs training on your way to having a stacked 6-pack.

In fact, ignoring this principle, could force you to develop "lopsided" abs that are so common among beginner bodybuilders.

Let me share this secret with you now...

The main abdominal muscle you want to be working when training your abs is your "rectus abdominis", that sheet of rippled muscle that goes from your rib cage all the way down the front of your body to your pelvis.

What's unique about this abdominal muscle group is that the upper abs can work separately from the lower abs (to some extent)...BUT when you work your lower abs exercises, your upper abs are ALWAYS working as well.

This is why most people (including myself from years of military training focusing on upper abs) had overdeveloped upper abs but underdeveloped lower abs.

Here's how to correct this...

Make sure you train your LOWER ABS first in your abs workout (ALWAYS!) which brings both upper and lower abs into the workload!

If you don't work your lower abs first, you exhaust your upper abs too soon and when you DO target your lower abs, your upper abs will fatigue too fast and you'll end up with under-targeted lower abs.

So the best exercises for lower abs are:

* Incline Leg Raises
* Incline Knee Ups
* Hanging Leg Raises
* Flat Bench Leg Raises

And then follow up with the best upper abs exercises:

* Crunches
* Weighted Crunches
* Situps
* Hanging Knee Raises

WORKOUT - CARDIO (HIGH INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING)

This morning's intervals were done on the stationary bike for 28 minutes.

Flying Romans were done for time (30 seconds) today rather than repetitions.

Here are today's Flying Roman results (3 intervals):

• 31 (16 one leg, 15 the other)
  
• 34 (17 per leg)
  
• 35 (18 one leg, 17 the other)

Comments:

Sore in my chest today. Sweet!

Just a some stiffness here and there elsewhere.

Left heel is still sore and I'm still favoring it but it does seem to be progressing...slowly. There are times when walking that I completely forget anything is going on down there. Mornings right out of bed are the worst. Walking behind the mower last night seemed fairly normal for the first time in several weeks.

Calves and feet got stretched for 1 minute per side today. I'm continuing to incorporate some hamstring stretches by sitting on the floor with legs straight out and grabbing my feet. The objective is to try and loosen up my entire leg musculature.


DIET - HIGH PROTEIN (PLUS 1)

After my interval workout this morning, it was Tex Mex omelet time. First, I cooked up a red jalapeno, half a red bell pepper, and some red onion in coconut oil. To that, I added 2 egg whites and 1 whole egg along with several shakes of the Louisiana Hot Sauce bottle. Once firm in the pan, I folded it in half with 1oz of raw milk cheddar and about 1/4 C of leftover chili in the middle and topped it with medium salsa. My mouth was on fire (pronounced "far!" when eating a Tex Mex omelet)!

I went with the usual 1/2C of yogurt, 4 tsp milled flax seed, and 1/3 scoop of whey protein isolate powder as a snack around 9:45.

Lunch was spent with my buddy, Hugh Jass (salad), and the last bit of lamb roast that was trying to hide in the fridge. The salad was just a salad but the dressing was most excellent:

• 2 TBS sesame oil
• 1 TBS Udo's Oil Blend
• 2 TBS rice wine vinegar
• 1 TBS lime juice
• 1 TBS Bragg's Liquid Aminos
• 2 TBS chopped fresh cilantro (stirred in after all other ingredients)

This afternoon, I snacked on a 1/2C of cottage cheese and raw cashews, almonds, Brazils, and walnuts.

Right before bed I sloshed down 30g of whey protein isolate powder mixed in about a cup of water.

Optimum Anabolics - Day 77/Double Ones

Week 11 on the Optimum Anabolics program has come to a close.

Overall, it was a good week. My workouts when very smoothly. I ate a lot of food but everything was clean. Reviewing the week in my head, I believe there was zero restaurant food in my diet the past 7 days. Interesting...

Time to see how the data looks:


MEASUREMENTS:

Weight: 182.5 LBS (DOWN 0.5 LBS for week, UP 3.0 LBS total)
BF: 9.5% (according to the calipers I have) (NO CHANGE for week, UP 1.4% total)
Neck: 16" (NO CHANGE for week, UP 1/2" total)
Chest: 39-3/4" (NO CHANGE for week, UP 1/4" total)
Shoulders: 47-1/2" (UP 1/2" for the week, NO CHANGE total)
Biceps: 13-1/2" (NO CHANGE for week, NO CHANGE total)
Waist: 33" (DOWN 1/2" for week, UP 1/4" total)
Thighs: 20" (NO CHANGE for week, UP 1/4" total)
Calves: 15" (DOWN 1/4" for week, NO CHANGE total)
Adonis Effect: 1.439 (UP 0.036 for the week, UP 0.026 total)



WORKOUT - CARDIO (HIGH INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING)

This morning's intervals were done on the stationary bike for 28 minutes.

Flying Romans were done for time (30 seconds) today rather than repetitions.

Here are today's Flying Roman results (3 intervals):

• 32 (16 per leg)
  
• 34 (17 per leg)
  
• 33 (17 one leg, 16 the other)

Comments:

Not much soreness to speak of today...just a some stiffness here and there.

Left heel is still sore and I'm still favoring it for the most part. However, walking actually felt normal at times today.

Calves and feet got stretched for 1 minute per side today. I'm also incorporating some hamstring stretches by sitting on the floor with legs out and grabbing my feet. The objective is to try and loosen up my entire leg musculature.

DIET - HIGH PROTEIN (PLUS 1)

Breakfast, post interval training, was a 2 egg white, 1 whole egg omelet with red and jalapeno peppers and red onion sauteed in coconut oil. I topped 'er off with an ounce of raw, grass fed cheddar cheese and a big spoonful of leftover chili. Look out!

Snack this morning was 1/2 c of yogurt, 4 tsp ground flax seed and 1/3 scoop of plain whey protein isolate powder.

Come lunch time, I opted for another hunk of tahini meatloaf preceded by a Hugh Jass salad of spinach, arugula, carrots, tomato, cucumber, celery, fresh parsley, yellow pepper, and scallions. I dressed it up with a mix of almond butter, chili powder, lemon juice, and milk. Sounds strange, I know, but it was terrific.

Mid-afternoon I had another homemade protein bar along with a few Brazil nuts.

For dinner, Christina and I heated up the last of the lamb roast to which I added the last of the broccoli from the farmer's market. Such a great meal.

We baked TWO sweet potato pies (photos, etc. to come later. Patience!) after dinner so I, of course, had to do some sampling which made for a nice dessert.

Just before bed, I had my usual 30g of protein powder mixed with water.

Optimum Anabolics - Day 76/Choices, Choices

With the approach of winter another season is also upon us...the so-called flu season. Time to get your flu shot, right? And the swine flu (H1N1) vaccine, too, yes?


I have my own (very strong) opinions regarding the seasonal flu, swine flu, and their respective vaccines. Lately I have found that, for the most part, it's an all or nothing game. You're either for the vaccinations or you're not.


Which side of the fence do you fall on?


No matter where you stand, I *highly* recommend you check out the following resources and come to your own conclusions. If you only have time (10 minutes) to check out one item, watch the video embedded in the first link.


http://renegadehealth.com/blog/2009/10/15/does-the-flu-vaccine-work/

http://www.naturalnews.com/027239_vaccines_flu_vaccine_.html

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200911/brownlee-h1n1


Wishing health, both short and long term, to all of you.



WORKOUT - CARDIO (HIGH INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING)

This morning's intervals were done on the stationary bike for 28 minutes.

Flying Romans were done for time (30 seconds) today rather than repetitions.

Here are today's Flying Roman results (3 intervals, 15 per leg):

• 33 (17 one leg, 16 the other)
  
• 34 (17 per leg)
  
• 33 (17 one leg, 16 the other)

Comments:

Not much soreness to speak of today...just a some stiffness here and there.

Left heel is still sore and I'm still favoring it. I have noticed that if I put full weight on it when walking, the pain lessens somewhat and the stiffness also diminishes. Interesting...

Calves and feet got stretched for 1 minute per side today. I'm also incorporating some hamstring stretches by sitting on the floor with legs out and grabbing my feet. The objective is to try and loosen up my entire leg musculature.


DIET - HIGH PROTEIN (PLUS 1)

After my intervals this morning, I took the smoothie route for breakfast. Today's "toffee" smoothie had:

• 1 C chilled Cafe Brioso coffee
• 1 C Snowville Creamery whole milk
• 1 big scoop of plain whey protein isolate powder
• 2 TBS unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 TBS coconut milk
• 1 TBS Udo's Oil blend
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp Xanthan gum

Mid-morning, I had a 1/2 cup of yogurt mixed up with 4 tsp of ground flax seed and 1/3 scoop of whey protein isolate.

Lunch was cashew chicken salad (modified to lower the carbs by deleting the noodles) from Dr. Hyman's book The Ultra-Metabolism Cookbook.

For a snack this afternoon, I went with one of my homemade protein bars and a few Brazil nuts.

Leftover chicken parmigiana and roasted spaghetti squash along with some steamed Brussels sprouts made the plate for dinner.

After roasting our sweet potato for later pie making, I stuck 1C of whole milk in the warm oven and mixed in my whey protein isolate powder as a snack before bed. Mmmm...warm milk.

Optimum Anabolics - Day 70/Half Time

Today marks the end of the 10th week on the Optimum Anabolics program. If I did my math right, that puts me right at the half way point. 10 weeks down, 10 to go.

Despite not yet exploding into the Incredible Hulk, I am pleased with where I'm at (except for the heel pain) and am really enjoying the Optimum Anabolics workouts. My past experience with other programs would have me getting rather bored at this point. Not the case at all here. I'm looking forward to another 10 weeks. In case you're wondering, that's the week before Christmas. Have you started your shopping yet? (~:

Ok, here is what the measuring devices had to say followed by a few progress photos:

MEASUREMENTS:

Weight: 183.0 LBS (UP 1.5 LBS for week, UP 3.5 LBS total)
BF: 9.5% (according to the calipers I have) (NO CHANGE for week, UP 1.4% total)
Neck: 16" (NO CHANGE for week, UP 1/2" total)
Chest: 39-3/4" (NO CHANGE for week, UP 1/4" total)
Shoulders: 47" (UP 1/2" for the week, DOWN 1/2" total)
Biceps: 13-1/2" (NO CHANGE for week, NO CHANGE total)
Waist: 33-1/2" (UP 1/4 for week, UP 3/4" total)
Thighs: 20" (NO CHANGE for week, UP 1/4" total)
Calves: 15-1/4" (UP 1/4" for week, UP 1/4" total)
Adonis Effect: 1.403 (UP 0.012 for the week, DOWN 0.010 total)


































































WORKOUT - CARDIO (HIGH INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING)

This morning's intervals were done on the stationary bike for 28 minutes.

Continued to work on getting faster at the Flying Romans.

Here are today's Flying Roman results (3 intervals, 15 per leg):

• 30 seconds
  
• 28 seconds(!)
  
• 27 seconds(!)
  

Comments:

As I mentioned yesterday, now that I have cracked the 30 second mark on the Roman's, next week I'll set the timer for 30 seconds and see how many I can do.

Not much soreness to speak of today. I'm fine with that since this is part of the lighter cycle.

Left heel is still sore and I'm still favoring it. Progress? I'll describe it as "no change".

Cardio over the weekend will continue to be bike rides only to rest the foot.

Calves and feet got stretched for 2 minutes per side today.

DIET - HIGH PROTEIN (PLUS 1)

Post workout this morning I again went with a 1 egg and 2 egg white omelet. Mixed in was yellow pepper and red onion sauteed in coconut oil. I topped the omelet off with 2 oz of raw organic sharp cheddar cheese and a few shakes of Louisiana Hot Sauce.

Mid-morning, I snacked on 1/2 c Greek style yogurt mixed up with ground flax seed and 1/3 scoop of plain whey protein isolate powder.

At lunch time, me and 3 co-workers headed out to Champps restaurant. I studied the menu on line ahead of time and opted for the Greek salad with grilled chicken and the dressing on the side. Turned out to be a great salad served in a bowl that was the size of a bathtub. Anyone know the Greek term for "Hugh Jass"? (~:

My lunch salad was so large and satisfying that I decided to skip my afternoon snack.

We relaxed a bit at dinner and re-heated the chili that Christina made earlier in the week. Chili and Fall weather go so well together. For some added nutrition, I steamed up a plateful of fresh broccoli from the farmer's market, drizzled it with Udo's Oil, and sprinkled it with sea salt. Awesome.

30g of whey protein isolate and a cup or so of water went down the hatch just before bed.

Optimum Anabolics - Day 69/Ready, Set, STOP!

Don't say it. Don't say "go".

When it comes to working out and eating well most of the time, I really do not struggle for motivation anymore. Exercise, good nutrition, and Overall Fitness are just part of my life. However, I know others lack the motivation to treat their bodies well or, like me, have other tricky areas where they often trip up.

I found this blog post on eliminating the various forms of the word "go" to be very helpful.

Why cut out the "go" and "going"?

As it turns out, our subconscious instantly thinks of work when we use these terms.

Pay attention to how you react when you say things like "I'm going to eat healthy today" or "I'll go to the gym tomorrow". Feel negative to you?

Now switch it around. How about "I am eating healthy today" or "I'm making time for the gym tomorrow"? Better?

Try this mentality switch out on a few small things you want to change or get done and see what happens. Maybe something will!

WORKOUT - CARDIO (HIGH INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING)

This morning's intervals were done on the stationary bike for 28 minutes.

Continued to work on getting faster at the Flying Romans.

Here are today's Flying Roman results (3 intervals, 15 per leg):

• 33 seconds
  
• 28 seconds(!)
  
• 29 seconds(!)
  

Comments:

Now that I cracked the 30 second mark on the Roman's, next week I'll set the timer for 30 seconds and see how many I can do.

Not much soreness to speak of today. I'm fine with that since this is part of the lighter cycle.

Left heel is still sore and I'm still favoring it. Progress? I'll describe it as "no change".

Cardio over the weekend will continue to be bike rides only to rest the foot.

Calves and feet got stretched for 2 minutes per side today.

DIET - HIGH PROTEIN (PLUS 1)

Post workout this morning I went with a 1 egg and 2 egg white omelet. Mixed in was yellow pepper and red onion sauteed in coconut oil. I topped the omelet off with 2 oz of raw organic sharp cheddar cheese and a few shakes of Louisiana Hot Sauce.

Mid-morning, I snacked on 1/2 c Greek style yogurt mixed up with ground flax seed and 1/3 scoop of plain whey protein isolate powder.

I had lunch today with Hugh Jass. I was in need of some greens and veggies so I filled up one of those big spinach containers from the grocery about 2/3 of the way to the top with spinach, arugula, red and yellow peppers, cucumber, celery, green onion, carrots, shredded cabbage, and parsley. The tub-o-salad got dressed with 2 TBS of EVOO mixed up with rice vinegar, minced garlic, lemon juice, and a dash of cayenne pepper and topped with 5 oz of grilled chicken breast. It seemed like I was chomping away endlessly but it was delicious.

My afternoon snack today was less than stellar nutrionally but it sure tasted good. Mmm...chocolate chip oatmeal cookies.

By time dinner rolled around, I was quite hungry. The cookies just didn't cut it...imagine that. Tonight we tried a different recipe from our favorite cookbook, The Ultra-Metabolism Cookbook. Once again we were not disappointed in our choice...pan browned tilipia. We went with mahi-mahi, however, instead of the tilipia. Another good choice. On the side was raw, dairy free alfredo sauce over zuchinni noodles.

Lookin' (and tastin') good...

















I knocked back 30 g of whey protein isolate powder along with my supplements just before bed time.

Optimum Anabolics - Day 62/I'm going with...

...Plantar Fascitis.

I did some research on the net and it appears this is the problem with my left heal.

Here is what Google Health had to say:

The most common complaint is pain in the bottom of the heel. It is usually worst in the morning and may improve throughout the day. By the end of the day the pain may be replaced by a dull aching that improves with rest.

Most people complain of increased heel pain after walking for a long period of time.

Um, yep. That sums it up.

Assuming this is my plight, there is some good and some bad.

It's good in the sense that it's not a huge deal, is rather simple to treat, and is a fairly common problem.

Bad is relative, I realize, but the symptoms can last for several months. Thankfully, I've been treating the condition as prescribed for a few weeks now so hopefully being pain free is not that far off.

WORKOUT - CARDIO (HIGH INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING)

This morning's intervals were done on the stationary bike for 27 minutes.

Continued to work on getting faster at the Flying Romans. Whaddya know? I got faster!

Here are today's Flying Roman results (3 intervals):

• 38 seconds
  
• 32 seconds
  
• 33 seconds (sweet)
  

Comments:

Shoulders and upper arms still sore today.

Chest was somewhat sore today. Not what I would've expected, however.

Left heel is still sore and I'm still favoring it. It gets better after I take a few steps.

Cardio over the weekend will continue to be bike rides only to rest the foot.

Calves and feet got stretched for 2 minutes per side today.

DIET - PROTEIN DEPRIVATION

For breakfast I repeated last week's recipe for (mostly) raw blueberry cereal. This cereal is tremendously satisfying. This is a very important quality for me. Hunger and I do not get along. (~:

Mid-morning snack was 2 oatmeal cinnamon cookies from The Cookie Cop and 3 Brazil nuts.

Lunch time meant another round of raw tortilla soup with a couple of handfuls of blue corn tortilla chips from Trader Joes. I love this lunch.

Hummus and red bell pepper = afternoon snack.

Dinner was leftover 3-bean chili. This dish is too simple to be so good. The longer is sits, the better it gets!

Cardio on the stationary bike again tomorrow...

Optimum Anabolics - Day 56/8's Not Enough

Week 8 of my journey through Optimum Anabolics has come to a close.

First up, three progress photos...






























































For comparison's sake, check out my Day 42 post. Not bad!

Now for this week's tale of the tape...

MEASUREMENTS:

Weight: 180.5 LBS (UP 2.5 LBS for week, UP 1.0 LBS total)
BF: 9.5% (according to the calipers I have) (UP 1.4% for week, UP 1.4% total)
Neck: 15-3/4" (NO CHANGE for week, UP 1/4" total)
Chest: 39-3/4" (UP 3/4" for week, UP 1/4" total)
Shoulders: 46-1/4" (DOWN 1/2" for the week, DOWN 1-1/4" total)
Biceps: 13-1/2" (UP 1/2" for week, NO CHANGE total)
Waist: 33-1/4" (UP 1/4" for week, UP 1/2" total)
Thighs: 20" (UP 1/4" for week, UP 1/4" total)
Calves: 15" (NO CHANGE for week, NO CHANGE total)
Adonis Effect: 1.391 (DOWN 0.026 for the week, DOWN 0.029 total)

WORKOUT - CARDIO (HIGH INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING)

As discussed in yesterday's post, this morning's intervals were done on the stationary bike newly purchased for the home gym.

Continued to work on getting faster at the Flying Romans.

I did 28 minutes on the bike. Next week I'll pay more attention to the timing break down.

Here are today's Flying Roman results (3intervals):

• 36 seconds
  
• 35 seconds
  
• 33 seconds (sweet)
  

Comments:

Shoulders and upper arms still way sore today.

Not much to show for the chest workout a couple days ago.

Left heel was much better today while working out AND later in the day. Very good thing.

Cardio over the weekend will continue to be bike rides only to rest the foot.

Calves and feet got stretched for 2 minutes per side today.

DIET - PROTEIN DEPRIVATION

For breakfast I repeated yesterday's recipe for (mostly) raw blueberry cereal. This cereal is tremendously satisfying. This is a very important quality for me. Hunger and I do not get along. (~:

Mid-morning snack was carbo energy cubes and raw nuts.

A material supplier took a couple of us to lunch today at Cap City Fine Diner so there were a few discretions on my part. Things got started with a warm, buttery "white death" roll. As an appetizer, the man in charge (meaning, the guy picking up the check) ordered some house-made tater chips with alfredo sauce (the dairy laden one) and Maytag blue cheese. Oh. My. Goodness. For a meal (as if I needed more to eat), I had the veggie plate. This was a great combination of an angel hair pasta cake, mushroom spring roll, asparagus, broccoli, goat cheese, diner vegetables and marinara sauce.

I skipped the mid-afternoon snack (duh!).

For dinner, we finished off the last of the eggplant parmesan and roasted spaghetti squash.

Later in the evening, we met Christina's high school friend and her new fiance out to celebrate her friend's birthday their engagement. I sipped on 3 of these light, low cal, low carb beers. Not bad, but I prefer dark, heavy beer for sure.

To finish off a rather crappy nutritional day, I had to have a piece of the birthday cake that came from a fantastic local bakery...Golden Delight. My sis actually got her wedding cake there. It's that good. Not so good on the ingredients, however. Oh well.

Back to the weights tomorrow!

Optimum Anabolics - Day 14/Finally Friday

It was the second "off day" with no weights today. I was up at 4:30 and ready to hit the cardio again to stretch the legs and lungs.

WORKOUT - CARDIO (HIGH INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING)

Here was today's intervals:

• Bike, Intensity 1 (warm up), 5:00
• Jump Rope, Intensity 2, 3:00
• Jog, Intensity 2, 5:00
• Sprint (all out!), Intensity 3, 30 seconds
• Jog, Intensity 2, 4:00
• Bike, Intensity 2, 2:00 ±
  
• Jump Rope, Intensity 2, 3:00
• Sprint, Intensity 3, 30 seconds
• Jog/Walk (cool down), Intensity 1, 5:00

Total Time => 31:30 ±

Comments:

Shoulders and chest feeling a little tight today.

Legs and booty still a little sore.

Abs were finally calmed down.

Much more comfortable on the interval times today.

DIET - HIGH PROTEIN

Breakfast was a beast of an omelet consisting of one egg, two egg whites, fresh salsa, homemade Italian sausage (recipe here), green and red peppers, and raw milk cheddar cheese. I topped it with a few shakes of the Louisiana hot sauce, too, of course. Sound familiar? It should since this was yesterday's breakfast of choice, too. What can I say? I'm a creature of habit. Hence my staple morning snack of...

Mid-morning snack was a 1/2 cup of yogurt, 1 T of ground flax seeds, and 1/3 scoop plain whey protein isolate powder.

Lunch was homemade tuna salad wrapped in a collard green leaf "bread". Along side the tuna was another blended zuke salad. Yes...same as yesterday. Remember what I said about being a creature of habit??

My afternoon snack consisted of 2 hardboiled egg whites and one yolk along with my usual raw nut combination of walnuts, cashews, and almonds.

For dinner, I had a big 'ol salad with spinach and lots of veggies including carrots, tomato, celery, peppers and scallions all topped off with the last of some leftover chicken. I used some of Drew's All Natural Romano Caesar as a dressing.

As a snack before bed, I had a 1/2 cup of lowfat cottage cheese.

Tomorrow it's back to the weights!

Optimum Anabolics - Day 13/Take Me (Back) Out To The Ballgame

Knowing that today was going to be much less hectic at the office, I headed downstairs with enthusiasm ready for some early morning cardio. What a perfect morning...moonlit skies, no wind, and a dry 58*! August weather is on the way, though, so I'm not planning on getting used to it for another month or so.

Speaking of August, it's a fine time to take in a ball game. This time, my sister called and offered 2 of her and her husband's 4 seats. We gladly accepted and enjoyed a great summer night at the ballpark. I came to the conclusion that there is just something about baseball that I love. It was a huge part of my childhood so maybe there's a ton of nostalgia there. Regardless, it's definitely my game! Thanks for the tickets, sis!

WORKOUT - CARDIO (HIGH INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING)

My lungs felt remarkably better today than last week. I think the light cardio right after my weight workouts helped this week.

Here was today's intervals:

• Bike, Intensity 1 (warm up), 5:00
• Jump Rope, Intensity 2, 3:45 ± (about 300 revolutions)
• Jog, Intensity 2, 5:45 ±
• Sprint (all out!), Intensity 3, 30 seconds
• Jog, Intensity 2, 4:30
• Bike, Intensity 2, 2:00 ±
  
• Jump Rope, Intensity 2, 3:30 ± (300 revolutions...faster this time!)
• Sprint, Intensity 3, 30 seconds
• Jog/Walk (cool down), Intensity 1, 5:00

Total Time => 32:37

Comments:

Shoulders and chest feeling a little tight today.

Legs and booty still a little sore.

Abs were finally calmed down.

Good timing on the intervals this week.

DIET - HIGH PROTEIN

Breakfast was a beast of an omelet consisting of one egg, two egg whites, fresh salsa, homemade Italian sausage (recipe here), green and red peppers, and raw milk cheddar cheese. I topped it with a few shakes of the Louisiana hot sauce, too, of course.

Mid-morning snack was a 1/2 cup of yogurt, 1 T of ground flax seeds, and 1/3 scoop plain whey protein isolate powder.

Lunch was homemade tuna salad wrapped in a collard green leaf "bread". Along side the tuna was another blended zuke salad. I'm addicted!

Mid-afternoon snack was 1/2 cup of cottage cheese and about 4 tsp of ground flax seed.

For dinner, I stir-fried up some chicken, broccoli, onion, lima beans, and mixed veggies in a sauce of coconut oil, garlic, hot mustard, and Bragg's liquid aminos.

Tomorrow morning brings a repeat of today's cardio workout then it's back to the weights on Day 15. I'll be ready for the iron again by then but the Week 3 workouts get way intense. Stay tuned!