Another Early Morning on Kipping Pullups and Muscle Ups. And, Wow. Some Grouper! I love that stuff!

Posted on May 24, 2013 by David Curry

Well, I rolled out of bed today in time to drive out to Grain Valley Missouri for my Thursday morning private training session with Carl….as usual. It is almost hard for me to believe that I am finally getting to the point where I can fairly consistently do “kipping pullups.” But, it must be true….cuz, thanks to that fact, Carl dictated that we would only do about 10 minutes of work on them before going onto something else…..the 10 minutes consisted of doing about 5 of them and stopping…..and re-starting at the top of every minute. (Someday very soon, you are gonna see a posting of me giving my P.R…..personal record….of the most kipping pullups I can do in a row without having to drop from the bar. In order to be competitive at CrossFit, you really need to be able to whip off 21 of them….for sure…in a row….without much trouble. I am not sure we are there yet. I would bet against it.) Regardless, Carl decided that we had had enough of that stuff this morning fairly quickly into our hour. And, we switched over to “Muscle Up” training. (Think Gymnastics. When those male gymnasts are pulling themselves up from the floor to that suspended position with each hand in a ring……like to an “Iron Cross” position……..that is called “doing a muscle up” in CrossFit.) When you see a gymnast do it, it looks so easy. But, I assure you that it is not. And, if I were a guessing man, I will be a very lucky man if I get to where I can do ONE of those suckers by the end of the 3rd Friday from tomorrow! Even so, it is very cool to actually be working on them! NOTE: Short Duration, High Intensity Exercise. It causes your body to secrete more growth hormone and burn more fat and convert more nutrition to muscle…..and, a whole host of other things that do good things for you and your belly! JUST DO IT!

As usual, I grabbed my morning’s Protein Shake on the way out the door to the Crossfit training. I truly cannot believe there are people on this Earth that either skip breakfast or eat such a crappy one that they actually would have done just as well to skip it. Coffee is NOT breakfast. I don’t drink coffee. But, I recognize that many of you must in order to feel you can start your day. The problem with coffee is two fold. Number one: Most of you cannot drink it black. So, every single morning of your life you are starting your day with the age old cycle of Spiked Blood Insulin/Glucose levels that are a result of the Standard American Diet. That is not good. But, worse yet, for a lot of you, the coffee ends up taking the place of some of your hunger for good nutrition that could have positive effects on your body. Coffee and a little side snack can consistently take a lot of you right on into Lunch. Wow. What a way to wreck the first part of your day’s nutrition. (Take a look at my pre-lunch hour calories versus the guy that drinks a cup of coffee and grabs a muffin with it as he rolls through the local Starbucks counter. Who do YOU think is going to ultimately have the flatter belly and healthier internal environment? Not too hard to guess, huh? Perhaps we should all think long and hard about Just Eating What David Eats for his morning…..rather than that which we have been eating as “our usual” for the last 10, 20, or 30 or so years of our lives.) By the way, I am well aware that I failed again to eat my berries with my Protein Shake. That is not good. I will rectify it tomorrow. I hope.

The good news is that I DID grab a Protein Bar to eat immediately following my morning’s workout. I should have also grabbed one of those trio Cranberry Nut bars…..so I could really fully address my body’s nutritional needs during its Glycogenic Window. (You need protein and carbs to actually do that.) And, next time I head out to Grain Valley, I will try to remember to grab both. I can tell you one thing……that Protein bar didn’t even come close to putting a dent in what my body needed to replenish itself after that workout. And, I knew it was going to be a very early lunch!

And, early it was. I had had to drive all the way across town again for a doc appointment thanks to a clogged up ear canal. (My ears get waxy.) And, as I returned, it wasn’t too hard for me to ascertain that I needed to skip the idea of trying to go back home and work a bit and just head straight for Grand Street instead. Thank Goodness I was one of the lucky souls who got there early enough to eat the Grouper ….as the fish special….instead of Mahi Mahi. (I don’t like Mahi Mahi. And, I flat LOVE Grouper!) They were kind enough to serve it to me on a bed of Pan Sauteed Mushrooms, Zucchini, and Squash. And, the guy brought me a little side of Verre Blanc to go along with the fish. (I was reluctant to even put a dab of the Verre Blanc sauce anywhere near my fish. But, after hearing that it was basically butter, garlic, white wine, a tad of creme, and some salt, I figured it probably wasn’t going to do me too much damage. So, I put a little smidgeon of it on my fork tines before each bite of fish. And, it was AWESOME!!!) In fact, the whole lunch was a little slice of happiness for David……… and Mr. Belly. (If fish is not in your budget today, grab some lean meat and some sauteed veggies. And, either water or iced tea. It will have the exact same net effect.)

After a few more hours back on the phone, I started feeling the urge for some caloric intake. And, since I had not been doing real well on Fruit intake lately, I decided that it was a good time to make myself up some Organic Pink Lady Apple Slices and Raw Organic Artisana Almond Butter. One of the side benefits of making such a snack is that it takes a little while to eat it. And, “taking a little while to eat something” is the equivalent of giving yourself a little mental break from whatever your work has had in store for you all day long. Let’s not look at our computer screens while you are eating your snack….or, answer text messages or phone calls. How about just a little real life relaxation with you and a nice little snack? Take a little time for you every once in a while throughout your day. It will do your belly good……..and, just as importantly, it will do your brain and your body good. (A little “detox” for some of the day’s oxidative stress on your brain and organs.)

It was finally time for dinner. Sadly, Angie was not really feeling like making the Wild Salmon and Hormone Free Filet Mignon pairing that she had promised me. So, we had to come up with something last minute. (That is NOT the best way to make food decisions. I think we have discussed this fact in the past.) And, neither of us really felt like anything sounded good. So, we finally resolved to go grab some Sushi from Kona and bring it home as our compromised dinner. As you can see, we did eat a lot of fresh raw fish….but, we also ate white rice with it. Not a good decision. And, in truth, I had a bit of trouble even enjoying my meal (knowing that I was probably spiking my blood insulin/glucose levels through the roof.) I think we both agreed that Sushi was not going to be in our future meal planning. If I am gonna have a cheat meal, it is going to likely happen in the cozy confines of Houston’s Restaurant on the plaza….not as a compromise meal on my kitchen island.