That is right. I arose at 6:00 am again this morning to drive out to Grain Valley, Missouri to see Carl at Cerberus CrossFit. He has been a gymnast the better part of his life……..(he turned 50 today evidently). And, I recently decided he was my last (and final) hope of ever successfully learning some of the more gymnast-specific movements that are a staple of the average CrossFit workout…….namely Kipping Pullups, bar muscle-ups, ring muscle-ups, and Toe to Bars. But, to start, I simply wanted to learn how to string together a number of Kipping Pullups. (Google them. They are not like the pullups you are used to seeing in the gym……They involve swinging back and forth and up. And, in short, up to now, I have just not been able to make that happen….despite the fact that I can do between 12 and 15 of the Regular Variety Pullups before running out of gas!) Well, today was the day. Humor me for a moment by taking a look at a Video Progression, will you?
After 8 months of CrossFit (but before meeting with Carl), here was my best effort at Kipping Pullups: Early Kipping With David On My 2nd Day after Making Carl’s Acquaintance, here is my Best Effort at the Exact Same thing: http://www.ubersense.com/video/view/tLGVC3Wf And, on my 3rd Day of Training with Carl, here was the start of this morning’s workout…..I wish you could see the end cuz, for the first time ever, I strung together multiple strings of Kipping Pullups without more than one kip on each Pullup. (The “Kip” is the swing with your feet at the bottom of the Pullup.) This video is the start of the day before he had given me any new instruction. (So, it would probably be most accurate to think of it as the end of the previous day.) Here you go: http://www.ubersense.com/video/view/qPivBJmp I won’t bore you to death with all the Pullup talk. But, at the same time, I think it merits taking you through the progression. Exercise success does not come any more easily to me than it does to you or anyone else. The secret to exercise success is consistent hard work over a long period of time. Plain and simple. And, no one starts as an expert. We all have to start at the beginning! Get it? JUST GET STARTED!
Well, before I headed out for my little outing with Carl this morning, I had my traditional 
morning Protein Shake. I must tell you that adding the Raw Organic Cinnamon from Living Tree Community was a borderline stroke of pure genius on my part. (In truth, my wife was adding it to her shakes before me. But, she was doing it purely for taste. No research on health benefits. And, might I add that HER cinnamon had been in the cinnamon spice container for about 3 years…if I were guessing….and, there is not a chance that there was even a remote hint of a health benefit left in what she was shaking out into her protein mixture each day!) Regardless, the Cinnamon Spice addition was that final touch which further perfected my already perfect daily Protein Shake Concoction. And, as you will remember, each time I catch a whiff of that very potent stuff coming out of the Shaker Cup from which I am drinking, I am reminded about the fact that Cinnamon literally REDUCES the glycemic elevation impact of anything you are eating. So, if I (you) was ever worried about that little bit of honey that I continue to insist upon throwing onto the top of the whole list of ingredients before shaking, I really feel like I can stop that worrying…..becuase the Cinnamon is probably offsetting what little glycemic spike I might have experienced from the few grams of natural sugar that occur within the teaspoon full of honey that I typically add. Wow. That was a lot of prattling. But, if you have been reading my blog regularly, you have followed this whole protein shake progression. And, I think the comment merited making…………
After my return from exercising, I grabbed yet another protein shake. And, I washed off some Organic Strawberries and Blueberries to take up to the office with me. Let’s not dilly dally around in between drinking the shake and eating the berries. Remember, the berries do have a lot of natural sugar in them. And, the best time to ingest them is when 
you are also ingesting something that is very glycemically flat at the same time. (All that Cashew and Almond Butter that I threw in my shake will do the “Glycemic Leveling” trick very nicely.)
As you can imagine, I didn’t get very hungry any too quickly with all that nut butter in my belly. But, at some point around noonish, I finally decided it was time to head for the Country Club Plaza and locate something healthy for David to Eat. I called ahead to Kona to see what Veggies they had 
available…..that really is a very important call you know. (And, I was guessing they probably had some fresh pan sauteed fish waiting for me if I could just get along with whatever veggie was on their current offering.) As it happened, they had just changed back to pan sauteed Haricot Verts French Green Beans sauteed in olive oil and served with some pan fried garlic pieces mixed within them. I doubt pan fried garlic is that good for you…..but, I decided to risk it cuz the General Manager of the restaurant (Darren Newell) also mentioned to me (while I had him on the phone) that they were having Pan Seared Barramundi! (That is a Wild Fish, in case you were wondering. And, yes. I like it VERY much.) Take a look at the pic. I think you could like it too!
I returned to my home office and did a few hours of phone work prior to determining 
that my day would go a lot better with my traditional Organic Raw Artisana Almond Butter and Organic Pink Lady Apple Slice snack. And, sometime around 3:30 pm, Nicole was kind enough to walk through my office door with it all made up for me! Good gracious. I love their particular take on Almond Butter for Apple dipping! Mmmmm. And, your heart will LOVE you for keeping those Omega 3 fat grams coming right on into your body and bloodstream…..probably lengthening your lifespan each time you eat a tablespoon.
The kitchen staff (Angie) was preparing one of my favorites this evening. And, she had already opened (and poured the remaining portion into her own glass) the end of the 01 Sawyer Meritage that we opened last night. I could 
kick myself for not buying more than one case of this stuff. It is SO good. In fact, after seeing that Angie had killed the rest of what was left, I actually opened another bottle of it so I could have a very deep glass myself! (Don’t worry. I am monitoring my Wine intake. My dad’s idea of a “glass of wine” has grown and grown over the years. I have never seen him inebriated in my entire life. I doubt he has been. But, his “glass of wine” measurement is getting close to a third of a bottle. You don’t need that much for your health. One Fourth of a bottle is sufficient. Let’s pour accordingly.) Anyway, Angie had prepared Roasted Goat Cheese Chicken. And, I ate every single bite of it. But, before getting to that, I enjoyed the Organic Girls Spring Mix salad she made me 
with her signature Angie made dressing….baby tomatoes and blue cheese crumbles added the finishing touches…..Thank Goodness for a lovely wife who happens to be a genius in her kitchen! Oh. Almost forgot. I don’t know what she did to the broccoli. But, it was, without a doubt, the best broccoli I have ever eaten. She blanched it. Flash froze it with some ice. Then, pan sauteed it a bit and finished it in the oven with some Parmesan cheese 
shavings….I think. I could have foundered on that stuff given the chance. And, imagine how happy I was as I thought about all the antioxidant and other health benefits of broccoli. (It should be called a “super veggie”.)
Gonna have to call it a night at that, folks. I, of course, have only drank water since finishing my evening’s meal. And, I am getting ready to go tell my lovely wife that it is time to hit the rack…..to sleep……so we can get our 8 hours plus and allow our pituitary glands their opportunity to do what they do best.
Over and Out. Another day of successfully Eating What I Eat. Hope you did too!