Welcome to my Life...

A Blog geared toward sharing how I live Primally while still being a girly girl!

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Bree's Easter WOD

Happy Easter everyone! I know I have enjoyed this weekend to the fullest and it's not even over yet...however...

This weekend has been especially difficult with keeping Primal in diet and exercise. In fact, this whole week I had originally set out to have zero alcohol! On Monday, I was talking to a Primal friend and just made the statement that I wouldn't drink this week...well, that all went right out the window by Wednesday evening (I think). Anyway, I had a beer and then Friday turned into an entire day by the pool with a couple of my best girlfriends and then...boom...I drank alcohol and ate a bunch of crap. Oh well, it is what it is. I think this just goes to show that I am completely human. Trust me, I will get back on the Primal horse tomorrow and keep on going because it makes me feel so much better!

Anyway, I woke up this morning and was somehow magically motivated to workout after eating like complete crap the last few days and this is the workout that I came up with at the gym. By the way...you don't really even need a gym to do this workout, just some motivation to get moving. So here it is:

1 mile jog
Tabata sprints 8:20:10 (this means 8 sprints for 20 seconds on and 10 seconds off)

1 set of burpees 10-12 burpees each set ( I don't try to count them, I just do as many as I can per set until I feel like I might die, then stop).
20 seconds of push-up position planks (hold both feet on floor for first 10 sec, then lift each foot for 5 seconds totally 20 seconds)
REPEAT 2 times for a total of 3 sets

20 walking lunges (bodyweight only)
10 to 15 pushups (modify if necessary)
REPEAT 2 times for a total of 3 sets

20 squats (bodyweight only)
10 jumping lunges (no weights for obvious safety reasons)
REPEAT 2 times for a total of 3 sets

15 Tricep dips (you can do this on the side of a bench or do some real ones on parallel bars)
10 jump squats
REPEAT 2 times for a total of 3 sets

I was in and out of the gym in 45 minutes! The trick is to just push through each set of exercises to keep that heart rate in the aerobic burn zone but not maxed out. I have learned that you burn the most fat in the aerobic zone at 50 to 75% of your max heart rate.

The mentality in Primal exercise is that it should simulate the natural movements of the body and not put added stress on the body. As far as I can remember...Added stress during workouts can release cortisol--> increased cortisol= difficulty losing weight because your body thinks it needs extra energy under stressful conditions. This is why they always say keep your stress low, get sleep--blah, blah, blah all that jazz when trying to lose weight. You see--the body knows what to do in every situation...it's smart like that!

(P.S., I'm not a doctor, trainer or anything of the like...I'm just sharing the knowledge of the blogs I've read and what the trainers and experts in the field recommend in hopes that I can help others who have some interest in health and fitness.)

I hope you all have a very HAPPY EASTER!

Cheers to Life! --Bree

Saturday, April 16, 2011

A Trip to the OTSFM!

I decided that I'm really going to start kicking some Primal ass now. I have been doing pretty well for a couple of months now and I'm really getting the hang of this stuff. I am feeling better, although, I have developed a bit of an egg intolerance and I am going to give up eggs this week for breakfast and see how that goes. I'm really gonna miss those fluffy little fellas, but oh well. Apparently 2 eggs for breakfast everyday CAN be a little rough on the tummy--especially mine, the World's Most Sensitive Tummy!

Anywho--I set off to check out the Old Town Scottsdale Farmer's Market this morning--abbreviated by me as OTSFM and it was quite interesting and lovely. I could have stayed for hours because I found it to be like a healthier version of Costco with friendly, young people offering samples of their own prized concoctions, instead of old people with hair nets. I didn't have that amazingly large shopping cart that Costco offers, so I sampled here and there and was envious of the people who remembered to bring their reuseable shopping bags (huge brainfart Bree!). Next time, I'm thinking I'll be more prepared for the awesomeness.

I had one goal in mind on my excursion to the OTSFM--to find some grass-fed beef! I wandered the market and found that there were three different ones. I talked to one beef-selling cowboy and he wasn't too exciting or helpful but I did gather a price list from him and learned that this particular ranch will deliver the meat to my door. He said, "I'll bring it to ya anywhere in the valley on up to Prescott." So I understand that to mean that he would deliver most places. This family owned enterprise is called JH Grass Fed Beef and can be found at http://www.jhgrassfed.com/.  I took his pricelist and tipped my conductor's hat in his direction before continuing my parade around the market.

After that I was wandering, admittedly quite aimlessly, when I just about ran face first into a basket of granola held by a lovely old lady. She saw my paper and pricelist and whispered to me that she really enjoyed buying her beef from Circle Key Farms. She pointed me in their direction and it was all I could do not to bust out into a sprint to get there.

After some serious crown weaving, I walked up to the Circle Key stand (Phone # 520-450-1016) and they had pictures of their cute little cow and goat friends--(they sell eggs too).  My demeanor must have been inquisitive because the lady proceeded to explain to me how they feed their little four-legged friends alfalfa and raise them by hand on pastures of grass that they grow themselves. They don't treat the grass with any pesticides and don't fatten up their cows with grain or hormones. (This doesn't mean that JH Farm guy does these things--but this lady wooed me with her explanation).

I asked a few questions and took a look at the pricelist and I got to meet the man behind the meat! The cowboy! This dude was real, 100% grass-fed cowboy! He was gruff, and tough with callused hands at least 1/4 inch thick. I'm sure he probably drives one of those Diesel Ford F150s and would scoff at my eco-friendly Prius with a toughness that would scare a bull. He's probably never heard of Beyonce or the Black Eyed Peas, but I bet if I brought up Elvis we would be buds. Nonetheless, he reminded me a lot of my grandpa in character and gruffness so I listened up! 

He told me he raises the cows himself, feeds them from his own land and sells only the best!  By the looks of this tough old cowboy, he wasn't lying! He has earned every wrinkle on his forehead and every dollar in his pocket. He said, "What can I getcha?" and "I'd be happy to sell you by the 1/4 and by the 1/2 (of a cow)...just don't go gettin' all 'steak happy' on me and you'll get it all for a better price. You know what you want?" So I thought about it and thought some more--"what does one do with 1/4 or 1/2 a cow?" and "Can you fit 1/4 cow in a Prius?" I also thought, "Uhhhh, I don't even know what half these cuts of meat are--holy crap I need to learn more about meat, NOW!"

By the way, I'm not sure I could fit 1/2 or a 1/4 of a cow in my Prius or my apartment, let alone my freezer, so I opted for the next best choice and bought a Top Sirloin steak and some ground beef. These were safe options in my mind. I figured I needed to sample this beautiful meat before purchasing THE COW.




So, tomorrow I'm gonna have some steak--I'll let ya know how it goes. But I wanted to pass along this info to other Paleo/Primal enthusiasts because by cutting out the middle man (like Whole Foods and Sprouts) you can save a lot of money on grass-fed beef products and put your money into the local market.

Click here if you would like to learn more about the benefits of grass-fed beef from Mark's Daily Apple.

Cheers to Life! --Bree