Monthly Archives: October 2011

Places in my workout world: The Backyard

very dark photo of the neighbors' buzzing lightOne of my neighbors has a very loud buzzing light in their backyard.  It comes on every night when the sun goes down and stays on until sunrise.

It used to bug Andy, and sometimes we talk about shooting it out, since it only adds to the light pollution in the neighborhood. But it’s one of the familiar sights and sounds in the backyard when I work out early in the morning before most people are awake.

I stood outside this morning and listened to the buzzing while resting between sets. I gazed up at the sky and made out the constellation Orion. I saw a planet in the southwestern sky and wondered which one it was. Probably Jupiter. Venus would be in the east at that hour.

I hear all sorts of interesting stuff when I’m out in the backyard working out. One time the neighbor behind me was fussing at a raccoon that — I guess — had gotten into her chicken coop. “Bad raccoon! Bad, bad raccoon!” It sounded as if she hit it pretty good, and I heard it scramble up the nearest tree. I shook my head. There’s no such thing as a good or bad animal. An animal just IS.

Most of the time I just hear the normal neighborhood stuff. The next-door-neighbors letting their dogs out. The newspaper delivery guy creeping by in his car. Rats crawling along the back fence. (Yes, I have rats in my neighborhood. It’s a constant battle.)

I realized today that I spend more time outside in the backyard when it’s dark than I do when it’s light. It’s hard to see much beyond my back porch except for outlines and, of course, that buzzing light. I guess that’s why I do a lot more listening than looking when I’m out there. You can hear a lot of interesting things in the backyard if you open your ears.

It was chilly this morning. I managed to get in my entire workout plan before anyone woke up.

A) 2-DB Push press 3×4 @ 30# (90 sec rest between sets)
B) 1-arm DB snatch 3×4 @ 30# (90 sec rest between sets)
C) 4 sets: 10 2-DB lunges @ 25# / 10 jumping lunges (60 sec rest between sets)
D) 4 sets: 5 ring pullups / 15 pushups (60 sec rest between sets)
Finisher: 15×3 KB swings @ 35#
Core: 4 sets → 5 flag / 10 russian twists w/ KB / 10 high-tension crunches / 12 supermans / 80 chinnies

Rest Day Recipe: Caribbean Chicken Pot

Time to rest your body and feed your recovering muscles!

Caribbean Chicken Pepper pot stew in a white bowl.

This stew, with chicken, sweet potatoes, collard greens, okra, and peppers is chocked full of yumminess.

I’m going to share a stew today that I thought was fabulous, and it wasn’t hard to whip up on a weeknight. The stew made a TON of leftovers, which we ate for days.

The original recipe called for a minced Scotch bonnet pepper. I left it out because I cook for 2 little ones, but if you want the heat, add it at the same time as the chicken stock.

Enjoy!

Caribbean Chicken Pot with Okra
Serves 4

Ingredients

8 boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
Salt and pepper
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced or pushed through a press
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp ground allspice
4 cups chicken stock
3 medium sweet potatoes (2 1/2 lbs), peeled and cut into 1-inch dice
1 bunch collard greens, stemmed and chopped
1 (16-oz) bag frozen or fresh okra, thawed and sliced

Instructions

  1. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Cook chicken, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a bowl
  2. Add onion to the empty Dutch oven and cook until softened, about 4 minutes, Add garlic, tomato paste, thyme and allspice and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Add chicken broth, sweet potatoes, collard greens, and chicken with any accumulated juices and cook until chicken and potatoes are almost tender, about 10 minutes. Add okra and cook until chicken and potatoes are completely tender, about 5 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.
  3. Serve and eat!

My thanks to Cooks Illustrated for this recipe. It’s the bomb!

Being outside

Photo shows view looking outside at roads and flag poles

I missed the “cold” front. It moved through Austin sometime Thursday, well after I had already been to the gym, driven to work, and holed up in my office for the next 9 hours.

Working in a hospital is kind of like shutting yourself off from the world. Unless you move yourself outside, you’re unlikely to notice any change in the weather — even with a window. I guess most office buildings are like that.

Where am I going with this? Lately, I’ve been feeling an itch to be outside. Not just walk to my car to go some place. I mean BE outside. Lay in the grass. Watch the sky. Smell the air.

I don’t think I’m much different from many other Austinites who spent a lot more time inside over the summer. This drought and the heat have been awful. I haven’t found much grass to lie in that isn’t brown and dead. Being outside can seem downright depressing.

But there are actually health benefits to being outside. Studies have found it can actually boost immunity. That might explain my urge to sit in the park. It’s been a long, hot summer, and a hot fall so far. I am very ready to spend time outside again.

At least my workouts aren’t far from the outdoors. A garage gym is open to the elements, so at least I can feel the sun on my back or feel a breeze while I’m getting my butt kicked. Crossfit Central and RedBlack Gym can be pretty industrial and intense with the music, people yelling, and barbells dropping. But there are times when it feels closer to nature — early in the morning, when it’s quiet. There’s something about it that heightens my sense of possibility for the coming workout. It’s like approaching a trail before a hike. What will it bring? How will I perform? I walk away sweaty and invigorated.

This morning’s workout:

Strength
Back squat 3×5 –> 95-105-115-125-no time

Met-con
5 rounds
9 plyo-push ups
6 broad jumps
9 weighted sit ups (M 35# / W 25#)

Time: 6:48 @ 25#

I LOVED this workout. It’s very much Ross Emanit-style. It reminds me of the days when Andy and I would do workouts from Never Gymless — back before Crossfit. Maybe even before Luke. I love his philosophy about getting outside and using your own backyard as your gym. Nature offers some of the best training tools. But that’s a post for another day.

The devil is in the details

“You’re changing it. Nothing changes.”

In my Olympic Lifting class, Zach watches us very closely. He can see what I can’t. And on Wednesday, he could see how I changed my lift when I added 10 pounds to the bar during snatch drills.

I worked alone Wednesday. My usual lift partner, Andrea, wasn’t there. I prefer having a partner. It makes judging your breaks between sets easier. Plus, Andrea’s really cool and encouraging. It’s nice having a cheerleader.

I have a lot of details about snatch form bouncing around in my head. I know where to put my body before the lift. Finally. Off the blocks, the bar sits right at the knee. My feet are flat on the floor, the weight is in my heels. There’s a slight stretch in my hamstrings. Shoulders are over the bar. My back is tight, with the lumbar curve activated. My chest is up.

I haven’t quite developed a consistent mental checklist. It seems like every lift has something very slightly different about it, so sometimes I get confused.

What always stays the same is:

  • Do not JERK the bar off the floor
  • Pull straight up with the chest
  • Be aggressive getting under the bar
  • Stick the landing
  • Even if you screw up, finish the lift.

And to be honest, there’s more to that list.

Often times, multiple things need to happen at the very same time. And that’s what makes it tricky.

For example, during a split second in the pull, your hips open, your wrists and elbows turn in, the bar makes contact with your hips and you jump under the bar.

Sometimes it happens for me. Sorta.

I have trouble at the heavier weights. I struggle to be explosive and get under the bar. Zach says it’s all in my head.

Isn’t that like most things that hold us back? The trick is breaking that mental barrier.

Obstacles cannot crush me. Every obstacle yields to stern resolve. He who is fixed to a star does not change his mind.

– Leonardo da Vinci.

Back squats: 70%x5, 75%x4, 85% 4×4 → 95/100/115
Power snatch off blocks + OHS: 3×3, 2×2 → 35/45/55, 55/55
Snatch off blocks: 2×2, 1×3 → 55/55, 55/55/55
Snatch grip push press BTN (behind the neck) → 55/55/60/65

The time has come

Instead of listening to NPR on the way to work Tuesday morning, I blasted my absolute favorite song. It’s my go-to tune — the one I play on my way to the gym when I want to get pumped up.

Us v. Them by LCD Soundsystem starts with this line: “the time has come.” It sets the tone for me. I love it. I was blasting it Tuesday because I was already jazzed about checking off yet another goal — I finished a particular benchmark WOD in under 15 minutes RX.

“CC Flyers”
3 rounds
400m run
21 Box jumps
10 Overhead squats (M 95# / W65#)

Three months ago, the cutoff was 15 minutes, and I did not finish. I decided I would the next time around. This time, they didn’t cut us off at 15 minutes, but it doesn’t matter.

Time: 14:04 RX

It felt absolutely amazing to reach another goal, especially after struggling this summer and fall. I really feel like I’m hitting my stride again. The changes I’ve made and hard work are making a difference.

The goal was incremental, but it was a rung on the ladder toward my goal to be strong.

Time to set some new goals for my ladder.

We’re ‘special’

Zach calls us his “special” class.

That’s his tactful way of saying we (the noon Olympic Lifting class) need a lot of work. Last week, I felt like I caused Zach much consternation and exasperation. I don’t like disappointment myself or my coach, so I try REALLY hard.

Do I mess up? You bet. Sometimes I forget. Like on Monday when we did snatch balance and I put my hands in the press position. Zach walked up behind me and quietly said,” sweetheart, we’re doing snatch balance. Is that where you put your hands for the snatch?”

Oh yeah. Duh.

The amazing Carey Kepler was in my class on Monday, and it was really cool to have someone I really admire working hard on the platform next to me, learning at the same time.

We all have things we need to work on. I guess Carey wants to improve her lifting, too. It’s a fantastic reminder to me that we should never stop pushing ourselves — never stop learning.

I am happy that — even though he calls us his “special” class — Zach did say we were much improved Monday. It’s a lot of work in a short amount of time. And I’m always learning.

Front squats 70%x5, 75%x4, 85% 4×4 → 80/85/100
Power Snatch off blocks 4×4 → 35/35/35/55
Snatch Balance 5×4 → 35/35/35/45
Good Mornings 5×3 → 65/65/75

It’s started out to be a lovely Saturday

I was derailed over the weekend.

Saturday started out so beautifully. I woke up refreshed, got in a workout, got my hair cut, visited the Farmer’s Market,and finally headed to Luke’s school fall festival.

Andy, Luke, Cindy and Mads pose for a family photo

See how happy we look?

But…. duh, duh, duh, duuuuuuuuuhhhhhhh. (Imagine dark music here.)

The stomash virus that attacked Luke, Andy and the babysitter struck me. AND HARD. Actually, I wasn’t feeling very well in this photo. We left pretty quickly after we took it.

The ride home was not fun. The rest of the afternoon, evening and night was pretty awful.

The good thing about it was that it was short. I was feeling a ton better Sunday morning, and much more like myself Sunday night. But it also completely threw me off. Nothing got done. Work piled up, And I feel like I’m still trying to catch up.

I feel like I’m showing my age. I remember being young and bouncing back quickly from a sickness.  Any sickness. Now — at age 29+ ;) — it takes a lot longer to feel well again.

I can’t imagine how I would feel if I weren’t eating clean and regularly exercising.. To be sick on top of being… well, SICK. Dang….

I rested Sunday, so I felt good that I was able to to eek in a workout Saturday morning. It felt good! Baby girl decided to wake up just as I was about to start, but Andy graciously hung out with her until I could finish.

A) 1-DB Push Press 4×4 @ 30# (90 sec rest between sets)
B) 1-DB Clean from floor 4×4 @ 30# (90 sec rest between sets)
C) 4 sets: 2-DB step-ups (6 each leg @ 25#) / 8 RDL @ 25# (60 sec rest between sets)
D) 4 sets: 5 ring rows / 10 dips (60 sec rest between sets)
Finisher: 3x farmer carry → 1 min / 1:30 / 2 min w/ 25 # DBs

Rest Day Recipe: Basic Chicken Stock

It’s Friday, and that means is a rest day.  Whoo hoo!

So instead of a workout, I’m going to post a recipe for something I mentioned earlier this week: chicken stock!

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Yes, I know chicken stock does not sound quite as exciting as, say, the steaks with tarragon mashed potatoes and mushroom sherry sauce that Luke and I prepared, cooked and dined upon this evening. However, chicken stock is an essential ingredient. In fact, I used in in my dinner tonight.  AND, Andy drank a mug full after being sick all day.

He started feeling much better after drinking it.

Chicken stock is really easy with the pressure cooker. I made more than 2 quarts during breakfast one morning.

Stock is also amazing. It’s delicious, nutritious and CHEAP. It’s possible to make it with or without bones. You know me – I eat meat – so I recommend WITH bones. However, for my vegetarian friends, I highly recommend the recipes of Deborah Madison from her amazing cookbook: Vegetarian Cooking For Everyone. Andy and I found great success with her vegetable stocks and that cookbook is a must in all kitchens, not just vegetarian ones. I like her philosophy of vegetarian cooking, and the dishes can easily be paired with meat.

Moving on. Stock made from bones. We’ve made beef and fish, but mostly we make chicken.

We get a broiler every week from Richardson Farms. We freeze the leftover bones, by throwing them in a bag throughout the week. When the bag is full, we make stock.

We use the stock in a ton of different recipes, so usually it just stays in the fridge for a week until it’s used up. But sometimes we freeze it in a muffin tin, then pop them out and store them in a bag in the freezer. That way we can easily measure out 1/2 cup amounts to recipes that need it.

You can use all sorts of leftover vegetables to flavor your stock. Cooks Illustrated says the most important is onion, so don’t go without it. But there are also some things you shouldn’t use in stock, including onion skins and vegetables from the cabbage family.

Here’s our go-to recipe:

Brummer’s Basic Stock

Ingredients

Chicken bones
We keep everything leftover from the roast chickens and throw them in a bag in the freezer

Onion
One onion cut into chunks is perfect. It doesn’t have to be cut up all fancy-like. Don’t use the skins.

Celery and carrots
I use whatever I find in the fridge, which is usually carrots and celery. the amounts are up to you, but generally I don’t use more celery than carrot. You don’t even have to peel them. Just wash them off, break them up and toss them in the pan.

Water
I use our filtered water just to make sure it’s free of off-putting tastes.

Steps

Heat 1-2 tbsp oil in your pressure cooker over medium-high heat. Add onion and saute for several minutes.

Add carrots and celery and saute several more.

Add leftover chicken bones. Amount will vary, but generally, put enough to fill the pressure cooker to its “bell.” Saute several minutes.

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Add water to cover the veggies and bones, just above the bell. Add a good pinch of salt and any herb you may want to use, stems and all. (I recommend parsley.)

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Clamp on the lid and lock into place. Heat at medium high until button indicator pops out and shows pressure has been reached. Turn down heat to maintain low hiss and process for 45 minutes.

Remove pot from heat. Open ONLY when the button indicator shows pressure has dropped. Drain stock away from used veggies and bones. Pour into containers and store for up to a week in the fridge, longer in the freezer.

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Hang power snatch and a big fat DNF

I used to HATE not finishing a workout. It still kind of irks me, but not as much as it did.

Now, I make an unfinished workout into a goal to finish the WOD the next time it comes around or I simply appreciate that I got a damn good workout in.

The second option is how I look at Thursday morning’s met-con.

We started with strength:

Hang Power Snatch
3×5

Results: 35-45-45-55-55

I kept the weight low to work on my form, which was tough to maintain at 55#.

Met-con:
5 rounds
10 Burpee pull ups
10 wall balls (M 20# / W 14#)

Cut off 10min → Finished: 4 rounds + 8 pull ups @ 14# med ball

My wall ball shots are still low, but I feel like my form was a lot better than it has been — my chest was up, the ball was right in front of my face, squats were deep, and I didn’t have to stop. I did them unbroken.

We did the burpee pullups with the box under the bar, so I stepped up on the box each time (I didn’t feel comfortable jumping up under the bar or with the box on an uneven surface). That slowed me down. Still… I kept going.

After the kids went to bed, I did my core training workout.

Core training:
3 times
5 wheel roll-outs
15 knee hugs
10 Russian twists (25# DB)
12 supermans
80 chinnies

Now I’m ready for rest! Friday is a rest day… yay! Maybe a little wine with dinner?

Walking dead

We had an exciting night at the Brummer Casa Tuesday into Wednesday morning.

Poor Luke was sick. Really sick. (Poor kid… it’s agony not being able to fix it when your child hurts so much).

Andy and I did not get much sleep as a result. I got off easy. My job was to get Mads back to sleep. We ended up moving everybody around into different beds. Poor Andy was up practically all night with Luke. He missed his Crossfit class in the morning. He had barely slept when it was time to leave.

I was able to function a little better, but I was still REALLY tired. I wasn’t sure how I would do in Olympic Lifting class, but I decided I would try. I was so worried about showing up late that I got there early. We ended up starting our warmup early, which makes me wonder if I really was late on Monday.

Back Squat: 70%x5, 75%x4, 85% 4×4 → 95/100/115
Snatch Pull + Power Snatch + Hang Snatch : 1+1+1×2 60%, 1+1+1×2 70%, 1+1×1 80% → 45/45/55
Technique work: Jump, Jump, Power snatch w/ 35# bar

I am still struggling with the snatch. It’s such a technical move — and it’s ALL in the details. I wasn’t the only one who struggled. In fact, Zach got so fed up he threw out the rest of his planned program for the day and we JUST worked technique with the bar. I found that extremely valuable.

I feel bad, because I want to “GET” the moves but it’s coming slowly.  I think we’ll be doing a lot more drills because of that.

SIGH. I’m gonna learn this stuff. I’m determined.