Ceviche…for Breakfast? You Bet! And a Couple of Workouts, Too

Oh yeah, I’ll take Ceviche anytime…so why the hell not for breakfast?

Now this dish might be a little fruit-heavy for some of my more fructose-avoiding friends, but really, the amount of fruit per serving here is not all that much.  And, too, we’re talking whole fruit here, not the bereft-of-fiber, liver-hammering (and insulin spiking) fruit juice.  That said, the total fruit (read fructose) content of this meal is of little real worry to me, and so this dish – with it’s wholesome, fresh ingredients and very little prep time — is way high on my Paleo grub list.  By the way, I picked up the sea scallops for this dish from my local farmer’s market – another perk of living near the North Carolina coast.

And there is absolutely nothing to making good Ceviche; I followed this basic recipe (though I did add a ripe mango to the mix) from the New York Times’ Mark Bittman.

Simple, yeah – but damn friggin’ good  🙂

Relentless TV –

I’d like to give a shout-out to my friend Roger Dickerman, host of the new (at least to me) and uber-cool Relentless TV website.  I must say, I really like Roger’s concept here – kinda reminds me of a Physical Culturalist’s Sports Center (duh nuh-nuh, duh nuh-nuh!).  And Roger has a wonderful “screen presence” — intelligent, witty, animated — which makes each episode (they’re usually about 15 minutes, or so) a real treat.  Make sure you check him out, and see what you think.  And especially so, check out episode #3, where Roger covers my post in reference to the mental side of training, and especially so, HIT.

And speaking of recent TTP-press, check out episode #36 of the Paleolithic Solution, where the dynamic duo (Robb Wolf and Andy Deas) tackle my question in reference to the mainstream’s implication of testosterone and DHT as being potentiators of prostrate cancer.   This is a complicated subject, no doubt – props to Robb for taking it on.

On to the workouts…

Friday Night Iron –

whip snatch-to-overhead squat: 95 x 8; 115 x 3 sets of 5

~ straight bar muscle-ups x 2 for each round, in superset with both the whip snatch/OHSs and deadlifts~

sumo deadlift: 155 x 10; 235 x 6; 305 x 7, 6

then, a couple of sets of Bradford presses, 100 lbs x 12 and 10.  1 rep = front-to-back.

Sunday Iron –

Sunday’s workout is a prime example of where being at least somewhat proficient at the Autoregulation process can pay some serious dividends.  Between Friday night’s gym session and this Sunday afternoon session, I did A LOT of fixed-speed biking, sprinting (running), plyos…just a hell of lot of non-quantifiable, though tiring, stuff.  And even this session itself occurred on the tail end of a good deal of hard saddle time.  In fact, my original plan was to perform this particular gym session tomorrow, but as I was out riding, the weather started to turn a bit sketchy, so I altered course and made a bee-line for the gym.  What ensued was short, sweet and heavy.  Then I saddled back up and busted-ass to get home before the rain hit.

On a side note: so here it is the middle of July, and I’ve yet to be caught in the middle of a ride and in the middle of a downpour yet this year *knocks on wood*.  For those of you unfamiliar with the south-east US of A coastal plains, severe downpours can crop-up in the blink of an eye around here, and every evening carries about an even chance of just that happening.  Anyway, so I’ve yet to come home this summer looking like a drowned rat.  Maybe I need to buy that ticket to Vegas right about now?

Ok, enough blather – here’s the session; a superset of the following –

close-grip floor press: 135 x 10; 165 x 6; 215 x 5 (2), 5 (2, 2)

bent-over row: 135 x 10; 255 x 5; 300 x 4, 3

*The numbers in parentheses indicate rest-pause repetitions.   So, on the final set of CGFPs, I performed a set of 5 straight reps, racked the weight for a moment, hit 2 rest-pause reps, racked the bar again for a moment, then hit 2 more res-pause reps.

I then finished-up with some Nautilus 4-way neck work: front/side/side – 55lbs x 10, 65lbs x 12 (last 2 reps rest-pause).

One Wayward Parrot, and the Morning’s Heavy Iron Session

Some of you may have already met my new coffee shop bud, Gus, as I posted his mug shot on Twitter and on my Facebook wall; I just wanted to give him a little additional press, here.  Gus is quite the character, and not a half bad conversationalist, though he is a tad opinionated.  You just never know what you might see out on a fixie huck.  And no, that’s not my frappuccino, nor is it Gus’ — Gus’ owner is the guilty party.  Gus and I know better.

Meet Gus, the Coffee Shop Greeter

Sometimes You Just Gotta Go Heavy

No better way to kick-off a weekend than with a heavy Friday morning iron session.  This bout took approximately 45 minutes to complete.

single-arm DB floor press (each arm): 85 x 4; 95 x 3; 100 x 3; 110 x 2; 115 x 2

barbell bent-over row + RDL/shrug combo: 225 x 3(3); 245 x 3(3); 265 x 3(3); 275 x 2(2); 280 x 2(2)

Superset format in the above pairing.  Very little rest between sets.  Followed that up with this repetition method superset:

ab wheel roll-outs: bw x 10, 10, 10

dips: bw x 20, 20, 20 (rest-pause needed to complete last two sets)

The BOR + RDL/shrug combo was done thusly: 3 (or 2) reps of regular bent-over rows, followed immediately, and in one fluid motion, by a bar to just-below-the-knee RDL (butt way back…big glute/ham activation) with an immediate transition to an explosive triple extension low pull with a full, end-of-movement shrug.  Reset immediately into the bar-below-the-knee RDL bottom position; repeat for the required reps.

If you find your way out the the Outer Banks of North Carolina this weekend, drop by and say hey to Meesus TTP and me.

4/22/10; Another 30-Minute Iron Blitz, and the Current Reading Rotation

I meant to publish this yesterday, but…chalk it up to “technical errors”.

First, the early AM iron blitz; another example of how much can be accomplished in a 30-(ish)-minute window.

bent-over barbell row: 225 x 5; 275 x 4, 4, 4

feet-elevated ring flyes: 30 lb vest x 8, 9, 9, 9

pistol squats: 30 lb vest + 15 lb DBs (60 lbs total) x 5, 5, 5, 5 each leg

Notes: the BOR’s were not done in the hyper-strict, “bodybuilding” fashion, but rather in more of a dynamic, get-the-glutes-and-hams-involved, explosive manner.  Think of performing an explosive RDL until the upper body reaches approximately 70-degrees, then continue the pull-through until the bar hits the area of the diaphragm, or a little below the sternum, where the ribcage meets.  Imagine attempting to blast the bar through to your spine.  The weight should be heavy enough to where the bar will just touch the area of your diaphragm, but the attempt to bruise your spine with the bar should be there just the same.

Some slight toe-off spotting with the “off-leg” on the last few reps in the last two sets of the pistols.

The current reading rotation:

What a weave these three books make!  As is my norm, I’ve got multiple reads, in disparate subjects, in current rotation.  I love the juxtaposition, and the way hopping subjects works my mind, and forces me to form out-of-the-box connections.

Einstein’s God — Just when you think you might have at least a loose grasp on it all — surprise! — you’re not even friggin’ close.  I love this book, and I’m a huge fan of Krista Tippett’s Speaking of Faith radio show.

Never Let Go — What more can be said that hasn’t already been said?  It’s like having a cold beer and a chat with your worldly-wise grandfather — if your grandfather were a high-caliber athlete.  Right on, Dan!

Lone Survivor — Marcus Luttrell’s story is absolutely captivating; Patrick Robinson, however, ought to win the worst ghostwriter of the century award.  God, what Cormac McCarthy could have done with this story, if Cormac wrote non-fiction.  Oh, the possibilities.

12/8/09, Strength-Speed (Ham/Glute Intensive)

If anyone is dubious of the notion that the glutes/hamstrings are engaged in the bottom-most of a front squat, try this little combo on for size:

• cns prime: Russian scissor jump for height x 6 total
• front squat: 135 x 5, 5, 185 x 3; 205 x 3, 2
• snatch grip RDL: 135 x 5, 5; 185 x 5; 205 x 5, 4
• cns prime: muscle-ups x 3
• bent-over row (barbell): 205 x 5, 5; 255 x 5; 275 x 3, 3

Total of 5 rounds.  Auto-regulated for load/rep speed (power) drop-off.  Doesn’t really look like much, but when you reach the point to where you can be surgically precise with maximizing the effectiveness of each and every repetition, it doesn’t take much per-workout quantity and/or variety.  Notice how each exercise (except for the muscle-up cns prime) put the glutes/hams under duress; even the BOR stresses the glutes/hams in holding a proper, bent-over position.  This was by design.  Went well below parallel in the front squats to accentuate the glute/ham involvement in and out of  “the hole”; working weight used suffered as a result.

Specific to the execution of the RDLs: with an empty bar in a snatch grip, stand with your backside to a solid, immovable surface or wall.  Bend at the hips as if performing a power snatch from the low hang, and then ease lower so that the bar clears the knees.  Push what your mama gave ya (your boo-tay) back as far as humanly possible while pushing as much as possible (think “push the floor away”) from the heels. Now scootch your feet appropriately so that your butt just does touch that object/wall behind you.  Feel that hamstring stretch?  Yeah, baby, that’s what we’re looking for!  Now mark your foot position (I use a piece of athletic tape.  You do have some with you, right?  It’s a gym bag staple.); also mark the width of your foot placement, as this matters as well (remember 9th grade geometry, kids!).  Load up the bar and rock on.  And remember two things: (1) push the floor away with the heels on every rep, and (2) touch that wall with your boo-tay on every rep.  Don’t cheat yourself, though the urge will surely arise.  As the weight gets heavier, you’ll feel as if you’re going to topple over backwards – you won’t; remember that wall?  You’re not going anywhere.  And keep the rep speed up.  Power production is the name of the game.