Painstorm!

My sister Mindy, and more recently my sister Miranda, have become CrossFit addicts. The other day, they were talking about a WOD that had really pushed them. The workout was called Painstorm, and between the crazy name and not wanting to be left out of the sister workout chatter, I decided to give it a shot today and see if I thought it was as awesome as they both did.



The verdict? It’s definitely a great, challenging full body workout. While I can’t see myself giving up my running or the style of lifting I have developed with my trainers to start exclusively doing CrossFit, I do enjoy throwing in a CrossFit-type day every other week or so as a replacement for my regular strength training routine. The fast pace and constantly changing exercises keep both my mind and body engaged, and I like that most of the workouts can be completed within about 30 minutes.

After the gym, I had some grocery shopping to do, and since I wasn’t coming directly home to eat, I tossed a sample packet of MyoFusion Probiotic Cookies and Cream protein powder into my gym bag. I’m sort of picky about the taste of my protein powders, and I didn’t have high hopes for this one since I was not a huge fan of the old line of MyoFusion protein powders. However, I ended up being pleasantly surprised. It was sweet, but not overly sweet, it mixed easily with ice and water in my shaker bottle, and the tiny cookie pieces made me feel like I was having a more decadent treat than just a simple protein shake. The nutrition info isn’t too bad either. Normally I would choose something with fewer calories and carbs per serving (MRM All-Natural Whey and Dymatize Iso 100 are two of my favorites), but I can see myself buying this in the future for a once-in-a-while treat.

Nutrition from Netrition.com

Time to clean up the mess from dinner and settle in to watch some college basketball. Go Duke!!

CrossFit Craziness with a Side of Salad

I never got around to getting my measurements taken earlier this week, and since I really want to have quantifiable results from Shortcut to Size, I decided to put off starting Phase 2 until next Monday and mix it up in the gym until then.  My sister Mindy is a bit of a CrossFit fanatic, and on Monday, she posted about a WOD that kicked her butt. A lot of the workouts she does include moves that I’m not entirely familiar with, so I tend to shy away from trying them, but this one looked simple enough, so I decided to give it a whirl. 

This is what should have happened:

5 rounds
22 KB swings (53 lbs)
22 box jumps (20″)
400m run
22 burpees
22 wall balls (14 lbs)

And this is what actually happened:

3.5 rounds
22 KB swings (35 lbs)
22 box jumps (20″)
400m run
22 burpees
22 wall balls (12 lbs)

I got to the gym thinking I would attempt the workout as prescribed. Then I picked up a 45 lb kettlebell and realized there was no way that was happening.  53 lbs?? Seriously??  I also discovered that my gym doesn’t have a 14 lb medicine ball, so I was left with a choice of 12 lbs or 20 lbs. 12 lbs, thankyourverymuch!  My boxing trainer showed up after I ran my fourth 400m, so I had to cut the workout short. I could lie and say I was sad about that, but I wasn’t. Let me tell you, this workout is no walk in the park. I was a sweaty mess, my heart rate was elevated the entire time, and my quads and shoulders were burning like no one’s business. I’m planning on doing it again next week and actually finishing to see how long it takes me.



In other news, I’ve been eating spinach like it’s my job lately. So many bloggers have started talking about how fall is just around the corner, but it still feels like the middle of summer here in Tampa. With the hot weather, I’ve been enjoying refreshing spinach and fruit salads quite regularly. Yesterday’s combination was particularly yummy.  I added raspberries, grapes, mandarin oranges, blueberries, some shredded chicken from a chicken I roasted in my crockpot over the weekend, Trader Joe’s Sesame Honey Cashews and topped it with a simple Lime Poppy Seed Dressing that I made up on the fly.
 

Lime Poppy Seed Dressing

• 2 tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice
• 1/2 tbsp honey (I used an awesome Lime Blossom Honey that I found at HomeGoods)
• 1 tsp poppy seeds
• 1 tsp Ideal Brown Sweetener
• 1 packet of Truvia

I like my salad dressing quite sweet, in case that wasn’t obvious from looking at the ingredient list.

And to wrap up with something completely random, this is amazing.