Week 3 - Snow and Supplements

Weight: 182 lbs

Body fat: 17.5 %:

This week has been tough on running days because we’ve had a lot of snow. For my first run of the week I went to my normal path but it was covered so after the first interval I went back to the roads. They were still icy in spots but had at least been plowed. For my second run I stuck to the roads from the start and was fine. Today was supposed to be my last run of the week but the snow has struck again. It started Friday mid-day getting me out of work 2 hours early. I went home and did my last lifting day of the week with my free weights in the cold garage. Working out in my long johns, gym pants and a wind breaker IS as sexy as it sounds. I went to the garage and ran in place lifting my knees as high as I could to reach the level 10 instead of my normal run today.

A friend of mine found and indoor climbing center near where we work and we both wanted to check it out. I had done a little climbing at similar facilities while I was in high school and then again years later after college. We did the basics class last Sunday to brush up on the knots and the belaying technique. Then we were free to climb and did that for about another hour. I quickly remembered how good of an upper body workout this was. Most of the walls here have an incline beyond 90 degrees so my forearms and back stay engaged for most of the climb. I plan to push myself as hard as I can to build up the muscles needed for climbing and to use these days to replace one of my upper body workout days.

I also wanted to cover other products I’m using along with the program. One of those is EAS whey protein. I buy the big purple bag of vanilla flavored whey at Costco. I’d prefer chocolate but they don’t carry it. I take one serving immediately after I finish a workout. I do this only on lifting days, not running days. The other product is creatine monohydrate. I take this everyday including my rest day. I use one “heaping teaspoon”, as the package describes, immediately before I lift then one more immediately after. On my rest day or running days immediately after running I take only one serving.

For food this week I made two meals I think are worthy of mentioning. One is a turkey chili recipe that is incredibly simple and easy to make in bulk which I did. Here is the recipe:

1 lb ground turkey breast

1 can diced tomatos

1 can kidney beans

1 packet chili seasoning

First brown the turkey and drain off excess liquid. Make sure to rinse off the beans because the liquid they’re stored in will cause some unpleasant wind from your backside (brilliant advice from EC). Then mix everything together and bring to a simmer stirring occasionally. Let it simmer for 3 to 5 minutes then remove from heat. In prep for this storm I doubled up on the recipe and added a can of tomato sauce.

Since the chili was my protein source but has carbs from the beans, I just increased the portion size slightly and reduced the rice portion size.

My other meal was equally simple. I stopped in at the local grocery and picked up the biggest piece of fresh catfish on the rack. I had the lady cut it in half and season one piece with cajun spices and one with lemon pepper. I took these home and wrapped each separately in foil. Cooked them at 425 degrees for 20 minutes. For my veggie I cut up some zucchini squash and put it in a pan with just a little oil over medium heat and lowered a little once they started cooking. I seasoned it with lemon pepper seasoning. I used rice for the carb and this made two meals.

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