Ahhhh, another running workout. These spring days will turn my weakness into a strength, damnit!
I am a strategy girl. My favorite moments at the gym are when I learn a new technique or strategy that will make me better.
Why? Because it makes things easier.
When you become more efficient in the way you perform a lift or move your body, that workout becomes easier.
That’s probably why I get excited about working on my weaknesses – every incremental improvement makes things easier.
The same is of course true of food choices, finances & relationships – when we learn something that makes us better and then we implement that strategy, things get easier.
Who else wants to make things easier?!
During today’s warmup, we worked on our running technique. This often gets overlooked. We just think, “oh yeah, run. I can do that” (kinda like how we approach eating – we overlook the importance of strategy and just do what we’ve always done).
One of the things the coach reminded us is to stay light on our feet. Our feet should be quiet and quick.
Pull your feet up off the ground as quickly as you can, as if the ground was hot lava. And, don’t trudge through the run, slamming your feet down with each step.
Fast, light feet. It makes it easier. Even as a mindset, it helps. Thinking “I’m fast & light” makes the run far easier than thinking “God I’m slow. This sucks. My legs feel heavy.”
“Helen” (modified)
3 Rounds:
300 Meter Run
21 Kettlebell Swings (53/35)
12 Pull-ups
After the workout I did a 5K meter row at a recovery pace – kind of the equivalent of a leisure walk after a workout. It felt great!
I want to make one last point about the idea of fast & light.
How often do we trudge through our decision making? We hem and haw and get all dramatic about what we should or shouldn’t do.
That’s the mental equivalent of having thunderous, trudging steps on a run. It makes it harder.
In your decisions, be quick & light.
Don’t negotiate with yourself. Make the decision and move right along.
Consider what will make you feel lightest & happiest and move right along.
Light and fast. It will make your choices & your days easier, for sure!
On the food front:
One of my favorite restaurants in Austin, TX recently expanded and now offers bottled butter coffee so of course I had to try it out!
I had a bottle of this in lieu of my morning coffee. One bottle is 210 calories, 17g fat from butter & MCT oil, 10g protein from grass-fed whey protein and 1g of sugar. I usually drink my coffee black and don’t like sweetened coffee drinks, so this was pretty good. I bought a case & and I’ll definitely finish it!
Around 12p I had a Paleo Power Meals cobb salad with a few cups of raw cabbage added in for fiber & satiety. Those cruciferous veggies like brussels, broccoli, cabbage & cauliflower are everything for me from an estrogen detoxification standpoint!
Around 3pm I had 2 grilled chicken strips with Primal Kitchen Chipotle Lime Mayo. Like I’ve said, I hate mayonnaise but this stuff from PK is awesome!
Dinner was one of my latest favorites from Paleo Power Meals: steak frites – steak with sweet potato fries. I only do starch a couple nights a week but sweet potato fries are a fave way to do it!
Here’s to making the rest of your day the best of your day!
But, as an awkward middle-schooler, I wanted to wear earrings like the rest of the girls. So, I was in the habit of wearing clip-ons, except they weren’t really “clipped on”. They had these spring-loaded backs. Most of them were probably $1.99 from Claire’s. You know…only the best.
One day Mrs. May, my 7th grade English teacher, informed me that my ear was bleeding. Sure enough, the back of my earring had broken and the “spring” pierced my ear.
She sent me to the nurse’s office.
For some reason that remains a mystery, the school nurse called the janitor. (It was a small private school, so the nurse probably wasn’t a nurse but a stay-at-home mom looking for a tuition break. Just sayin’. I’m probably right.)
Joe, the janitor, enters the nurses office with a pair of pliers and a large pair of bolt cutters. He hands the pliers to the nurse and he positions the bolt cutters on the back side of my ear.
Together, Joe and “the nurse” removed the earring from my ear.
(Really, I had no reason to fear getting my ears pierced when the reality of Joe & his tools was far more terrifying…)
Later that night, as I relayed this odd scene to my mom, she said:
You know, of all the things you think to teach your kids, it never crossed my mind to teach you NOT to let a janitor remove any object from your body with pliers and bolt cutters.
There is no good reason for me to share that story with you guys today, other than the fact that it still makes me laugh, and the fact that this morning my chiropractor said to me, “Have you heard of ‘choose the wrench’?”
Immediately I thought: I probably shouldn’t let a chiropractor use a wrench on my body.That’s a lesson I learned from the janitor and the bolt cutters.
Of course, he didn’t intend to use a wrench as part of my adjustment…
My new-to-me chiropractor is a member of my gym. I went to his office after my workout this morning and when he asked how I was feeling he knew what I meant when I said “today’s workout crushed me“. I felt pretty beat up.
“Surfer on Acid”
3 Rounds:
300 Meter Run
21 Burpees
The goal of this workout is as fast as possible.
You guys know that running isn’t yet my strong suit. And burpees paired with running…well, yeah. It got me good. I told Dr. Messina, “No really. When I finished I just wanted to be alone so I could cry.”
But here’s the thing – those hard workouts are insight into the strength of my mindset.
Do not let unexpected obstacles throw you. Do not complain. You are not a victim. Welcome to the human experience. Things aren’t easy. So what? Who said they would be? Meet the challenge and crush it. Don’t waste an ounce of energy on complaining.
Sheesh. Tough talk for a Friday, yeah? Let’s talk about food…
On the food front:
I went into the workout fasted – just cold brew coffee. I’m glad I did because any food bouncing around would have made a tough workout vomilicious. No thanks.
I dashed home to grab my bags & take a quick shower after enjoying some Paleo Power Meals: spaghetti squash with meat sauce.
After my adjustment I hit the road – heading out of town for a couple days. I’m listening to my body & drinking tons of water because I’m exceptionally thirsty today.
In the early afternoon I picked up a small salad with salmon and went for a walk on the beach.
I’m going out for dinner tonight and I’m writing this post before I go so I’ll tell you what I know for sure:
There won’t be alcohol or starch or dessert
I’ll either have a salad, steak, veggies or meat & cheese
Make the weekend an amazing one and Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there!
I’m listening to the song “There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back” by Shawn Mendes as I write today’s recap. I think it might be a new favorite song.
It’s really true.
The only thing that ever held me back from getting out of debt was my own frivolous spending and lack of tenacity and organization.
The only thing that ever held me back from starting a business and making it work was my own fear & inaction.
The only thing that ever held me back from weight loss & health was my own attitude and short-sighted decision making.
If I refuse to stand in my own way (and I do), there’s nothing holding me back!
With the right attitude, there’s a way to create everything I want. There’s nothing holding me back!
(Know what’s crazy? Right after writing that I was checking Instagram & saw this pic below)
I jammed out to “There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back” on the way to the gym this morning and had a killer workout. (Side note: starting your day by blasting a favorite song is never a bad idea!)
I did some individual skill work before the workout and make killer progress so I was pumped up and ready to go for what was one of my favorite workouts to-date.
“Strongman Style”
Teams of 4-5:
5:00 at each station:
Prowler Push
Sled Pull
Ski Erg
Tire Flip
Yoke Carry
I absolutely LOVED this workout and I really brought my A+ game.
Workouts are such a clear picture into your attitude.
You can go into or through a workout thinking “This sucks. I can’t. Is it over yet? OMG it hurts” or you can thinking “I’ve got this. I’m strong. This makes me stronger. I’m so grateful for my body. I’m getting fitter with each ounce of effort.”
If you change your attitude you can change your life. I’m 100% certain of that.
The people with the best attitudes win.
On the food front:
I’m out of the house all day today and I have a webinar tonight so it’s going to be a long day. For that reason, I ate breakfast around 6am this morning (which is rare for me).
I had a big plate of mixed non-starchy veggies and some steak from Paleo Power Meals.
I carried another Paleo Power Meals dish with me & ate it before a meeting – spaghetti squash with meat sauce – totally an easy & delicious one you can make on your own.
You know what represents progress? The fact that this blog title, “Two Pigs & A Cow” isn’t an attempt at self-depricating humor! Yeah! Personal growth for the win! Haha.
Nope, two pigs & a cow is a recipe I want to share with you.
I’m not a cook, I’m not a recipe development expert & I don’t play one on the internet, but yesterday I decided to cook a legit meal AND create a new recipe.
For some strange reason, I wanted meatloaf. Actually, it started because I wanted mashed cauliflower & I was trying to decide what to make to go with it.
I wanted something more interesting than steak and I wasn’t in the mood for fish so I thought, “I’ll make meatloaf!”
With that said, I think most meatloaf is bland and boring so I spiced it up with ground pork and pancetta.
I wish I had a better picture for you but I snapped this one while it was still steaming hot!
Two Pigs & A Cow Paleo Meatloaf
Preheat the oven to 350.
Pre-cook the pancetta cubes. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the following:
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
Two finely chopped green onions (I only used the white bottom part, not the top green part)
1/4 sweet onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground pork
2 tbsp pancetta (cooked)
1 egg
5-7 basil leaves, chopped
1 tsp salt
a tiny bit of pepper ( I don’t like pepper – use more if you like it)
1/2 tsp ground mustard
1/2 tsp paprika
1/3 cup coconut flour
Mix well and place in a loaf pan. I spread a little bit of tomato sauce over the top.
Bake for 70 minutes & let rest for 30 minutes.
It was super tasty and I’m psyched for leftovers! Unfortunately, the leftovers will have to wait until after my workout! I’m sure I’ll be good & hungry!
This means that you’ll do as many rounds as possible in 13 minutes.
Those 55 thrusters got SPICY. Instead of letting my mind run away from me, thinking about how I’m only on rep 7 and still have a million more to go, I stay focused on each rep.
Hard workouts are a great chance for me to practice staying in the moment. Don’t think about what’s ahead. Don’t think about how much time is left. Don’t talk yourself into a break or pacing.
Just this rep. Just this rep. I always have 1 more rep in me.
On the food front:
Knowing that a tough workout was ahead, I ate beforehand. I was hungry, in part because I didn’t get a ton of sleep last night.
Around 9:30am I had a Paleo Power Meals cobb salad with added cabbage.
Trying to capitalize on yesterday’s momentum, I worked from Starbucks after my workout and brought some grilled chicken with me. I had 4 grilled chicken strips & a couple cups of coffee.
The best part of the day was dinner! I completely enjoy leftovers from last night: mashed cauliflower & meatloaf!
If you try out the recipe, let me know what you think! Maybe I’ll play around with some more recipes if you dig it!
I was completely in “the zone” today. It was around noon time when I realized, “Holy sh*t, I feel unstoppable today!”
It was one of those days where you’re full of energy, getting things done, crushing the to-do list, making great choices and feeling like everything is possible.
When I noticed how well the day was going, I paused & grabbed my journal.
See, when something is working, when something feels right, I don’t just want to notice & appreciate it (though that’s awesome), I want to figure out how to re-create it.
It’s such a waste to think “today was a great day!” without considering what made it so & how you can re-create it!
Learn from those days or moments!
In my journal I made note of what I had done so far & how things differed from my normal routine. That’s how I begin to figure out how to create more days & moments like the ones that felt so good today.
Here’s what I noted about what was different:
I set my alarm. You guys know I used to religiously wake up no later than 4:30am every day. I’ve done that for years. However recently, I’ve been consciously trying to get more sleep so some days I decide not to set the alarm which means waking up between 5-6:30.
Today, I set the alarm for 5 and got right up. No snooze.
I went to the gym early. Most days I workout between 12-1:30p. Today, after getting through my morning routine and some emails, I got to the gym around 6:50am.
I worked from Starbucks. There were some projects I really wanted to dive into & I’ve been having a hard time making progress so I decided to remove “normal” distractions and change things up.
I had a singular focus. I’ll be the first to admit that I often jump around from project to project. I’ll start to write a blog & pause to respond to an email, run an errand, switch the laundry or start a different project all together. Today, I had one thing I was focusing on and nothing else on the list until that was finished.
I reached out to a few people I care about. Before launching into my work at Starbucks, I sent encouraging messages to a few important people in my life.
The point here isn’t so much about what I did differently, but rather the process of noticing when something feels like it’s working, figuring out what is different, duplicating the routine and creating more of that “working thing”.
I’ll play around with some of these elements and see which ones move me towards having more days where I feel like everything is clicking.
I’m sure this morning’s workout helped. I LOVED it.
“Power Wheels”
AMRAP 3:
15/12 Calorie Bike
12 Power Snatch (75/55)
Rest 3:00
AMRAP 3:
15/12 Calorie Bike
8 Power Snatch (95/65)
Rest 3:00
AMRAP 3:
15/12 Calorie Bike
4 Power Snatch (115/80)
Let me break this down for some who aren’t familiar with the lingo (you can always google the name of a movement if you’re curious about what it is, but that isn’t the point of these posts. I’m not a personal trainer and I don’t play one on the internet).
This working was 3 3-minute AMRAPs with 3 minutes of rest in between. AMRAP 3 means as many rounds as possible in 3 minutes.
Since the workout is short, you’re going all in – full effort, no pacing.
12 calories on the airdyne bike & 12 power snatch, as many times as possible in 3 minutes. Then you rest for 3 minutes. In the next round the bike stays the same but your weight goes up & reps go down with the snatch. Same thing with the 3rd round.
I was proud of my effort – it had me collapsed on the ground after the 3rd AMRAP!
On the food front:
Before the workout it was cold brew coffee and water. After the workout I had a large coffee with a little bit of heavy cream at Starbucks. I usually drink my coffee black but since I hadn’t yet eaten, I added a splash of cream to hold me over.
Around 1pm I had a huge salad – I took one of the Paleo Power Meals cobb salads and added about 3 cups of raw, shredded cabbage.
Ohhhhh dinner. I cooked a legit meal!
Paleo meatloaf – I’m gonna post the recipe soon
Brussels with pancetta
Mashed cauliflower
Gotta say, it was freakin’ awesome and I’m psyched for leftovers tomorrow! Don’t you tell me that eating fat loss friendly foods isn’t tasty! I beg to differ – it’s whatever you decide it will be!
