Ripped Hands are Not Cool/November Favorites

The title says it all. If you're a weightlifter, crossfitter, powerlifter or strongman, ripped hands take time away from training, make normal life hard (washing your hair with open blisters will cause screaming) and simply is painful. A few steps after training and after showering can prevent rips and tears.

It starts with washing your hands thoroughly after working out. Remove all chalk and dirt. Then apply a hand lotion or salve that moisturizes and protects. I came across American Oak Hand Salve on facebook and love the product. It softens and smooths my hands. It has a non-greasy formula so I can apply it and then hold onto a barbell. Ingredients include coconut oil, shea butter, carnuba wax, almond oil and lemon balm and it can be used as a lip balm.

Then a few steps to keep calluses under control. After every shower I grab the same two tools; a callus shaver and a ped egg. One I use the callus shaver to remove excess layers of skin on my palms, thumb and other knuckles. Two Gently rub the ped egg all over your hands smoothing away any rough patches. Three Apply a lotion that protects and moisturizes.

Top is hands immediately after working out. Bottom is after washing, shaving and applying American Oak Salve. I train five days a week for hours at a time. There is zero reason for your hands to be a mess. Daily hand maintenance is the key.

November Favorites

Training Tips  Starting with an older article that I love the thought behind. It's discussing if Christmas is a good time to start a new health challenge and it's by the creators of the Whole 30 diet.
"Some foods hold a significance that far exceeds the sum of its vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients. That kind of food should be honored, savored and shared in the company of those you love. And in this special instance, in the company of those you love, it doesn’t matter that your Mom uses an entire cup of Crisco in the cake batter. Because that cake is full of memories, history and tradition, and makes you feel as warm and safe and loved as you did when you were a kid."
This does not mean a free pass to eat whatever this holiday season. Enjoy a frosted cutout cookie with your kids. Just don't eat 5 of them. Enjoy it, relish it and don't beat yourself up over it.

Good Stuff to Eat I don't take supplements or shakes. I prefer to eat real food and I enjoy cooking. But sometimes I need something quick to eat and I came across these Zone Perfect bars. They are high in protein, lowish carbs, yummy and inexpensive. My favorite are the mint chocolate.

Apparel and Accessories I hope all of you reading this have taken advantage of the black friday and cyber monday deals on Amazon, Reebok and Rogue and grabbed yourselves a new pair of lifting shoes. With prices on Addisas Adipowers under $100 and Crossfit style lifters available for less then $80 you really don't have an excuse to not have a pair.

My Favorite Things October Edition

October brought a visit from my mom-in-law, weightlifting meet at MDUSA and a whole lot of time spent at physical therapy trying to strengthen and relearn how to use my right shoulder.

Training I've Loved

• Downloaded some Barbell Shrugged podcasts for my drive home from the weightlifting meet. Mind Gainz: The Psychology of Strength and Conditioning is one of the best hours I've spent in a long time. What I keep replaying in my mind is the line about hating bumper plates. That their use implies that you think this lift isn't going to happen and you may need to drop the bar. I keep telling myself that if you put it on the bar you're going to lift it. I've PR'd my back squat, jerk and front squat triple since listening. If you're not taking your mental preparation seriously you're missing out on a key training element.
• Physical therapy, or getting an expert to watch you move and then doing what they suggest. I have a reoccurring shoulder issue and have been through PT several times. This time I've gone in with the attitude of an athlete who wants to keep moving for years to come, not just getting some relief so I feel better right now. Most days I leave cursing the therapist and mentally drained from having to think so hard to move my shoulder correctly. The goal is to strengthen my traps and upper back and to make the correct movement pattern sink in.

Good Stuff to Eat and Drink

• My mom got me this Black Raspberry Green Tea while in Savannah at what my family dubs the fancy gas station. I love having a cup of this in the afternoon. And if you're ever in downtown Savannah, GA looking for a place to buy wine, cheeses, gifts and coffee head to the Parker's. Seriously.
• I had a butternut squash and other vegetables that needed to be used so I made soup. This recipe is a great place to start and then improvise with what you have at home. I tossed a chopped red pepper, several stalks of celery and carrots in butter and cooked till they were soft. Threw the cooked veggies in a crock pot with a couple cans of coconut milk, the roasted squash and chicken broth and then used my stick blender to make it smooth. You could add chicken or sausage to make the soup a little heartier.

Workout Apparel/Accessories

• I have developed traps and lats and not much boobs to speak of. Sports bras are a pain in the ass to fit. They are too tight underneath my arms, are baggy in the cup or don't have enough padding and you give everyone a show. These Under Armour sports bras are my absolute favorite. Adjustable straps, good fit and some padding so I look like I have a chest. I have gotten my last two at the outlet mall and I paid around $35 for them. I wear an XS or Small. The blue one pictured I've had for over a year, worn once a week or so, and still is in great shape.
  

My Favorite Things September Edition

I haven't lived this far north in years and I forgot how wonderful fall is as a season.  Cool weather means we've opened the windows up and I have a reason to wear a scarf again. K in all five years on this planet has never lived anywhere where fall happens. She's excitedly pointed out the leaves changing on our way to the bus stop. Hope her enthusiasm stays as she's helping rake the yard.

Training I've Loved

• Establishing a one rep max in 5-6 sets (think big lifts; squats, deadlift, bench press). I am guilty of slowly creeping up when maxing out my lifts and finding myself tired by the time I'm near my maxes. My training has called for me to establish a one rep max front squat in 5-6 sets and I find that by taking larger and less jumps I have more in the tank. I'm coming for you 250 front squat!
• Russian twist on the GHD. A fun variation to a traditional ab exercise.  Engages the spinal erector muscles, turning ab work into back strengthening work as well. You can hold onto a plate, kettle bell or wall ball to scale this up.
• Single arm dumbbell press. I re-injured my right shoulder and bicep this month and it was a good reminder to focus on single arm dumbbell work. Using dumbbells rather then a barbell allows you to focus on using your arms independently and works to correct any strength imbalances you may have.

Good Stuff to Eat and Drink

• Quaker Oats Steel Cut instant oatmeal Quick and yummy. I usually make two packets at once and add a handful of whatever berries we have around.
• St. Francis Red Splash 2011 The in-laws serve St. Francis Cabernet for holidays. This is a cheaper blend that I found at Fresh Market for $9.99

Workout Accessories

• Ladies Lift Here 3/4 sleeve baseball shirt and off-the-shoulder sweatshirt. Well fitting and supports an awesome group of women promoting the sport of women's strongman competitions. It looks like they are no longer available but follow their facebook page where they announce limited quantities of apparel and merchandise. 
  

Diet choices

I posted this to Instagram a week ago, but wanted to give more details. No need turning Instagram into a blog post.

I get asked often how I eat or what supplements I take. I'll start with the don'ts. I don't take protein or other supplements. I don't eat paleo. I don't count calories or track macro or micro nutrients. I don't drink pop. I don't look at certain types of food or food groups as off limits. I don't eat out very often.

And the do's. I do drink plenty of water, close to a gallon a day. I do sleep 8-9 hours a night. I do eat lots of vegetables. I do cook. I do train around two hours a day. I do drink alcohol. I do make sure there are quick snack choices always available.

When prepping to compete I eliminate the alcohol and limit my carbs to just vegetables. I have more specific details for the day before and day of a competition. I'll save that for another post.

Paleo Baking Vent

I was taught how to bake by my mother and grandmother.  The process of measuring out cups of flour, leveling them off, mixing and knowing just when to pull something out of the oven is soothing to me.  I refuse to give this up.  At first I tried substituting paleo ingredients into my old recipes.  This does not work.  Things end up too wet, or too dry.  I've found it's best to seek out paleo recipes.  Google paleo baking and hundreds of blogs come up with paleo versions of pancakes, bread, cake, cookies, etc.

So here's the vent.  A good portion of these recipes disregard the usual process of baking.  You should add wet ingredients together, slowly mix in dry, don't throw hot melted butter in with eggs (they'll scramble), there is such a thing as over mixing, cold dough that's been allowed to rest will make thicker cookies, etc.  The instructions usually amount to throw everything into a bowl, stir and than dump into a pan.  It pains me every time I see it.  And than the comments from people who follow these directions that want to know why the texture is off, or they took forever to bake, or they burnt.  Baking is chemistry.  There is a reason why you use certain amounts of each ingredient and follow an order for adding them. 

I'm going to make a huge generalization here.  We have become an eat out, premade, add hot water and your done kind of country.  Part of what is hard about eating paleo, or clean, or just better for you is that it requires you to actual cook.  There are hundreds of bloggers out there creating recipes, following recipes, complaining about how horrible things taste, how difficult it is to follow this lifestyle, and a huge part of the problem is they didn't know how to cook to begin with.

Civilized Caveman's Banana Bread

I've complained enough.  I should share some of the good ones now.

Civilized Caveman- Great stuff here too.  Some of the baking recipes fall under the dump it all into a bowl and mix, but if you follow traditional methods for baking you end up with great results.

Clean Eating for the Realistically Minded- Delicious recipes that everyone will eat and won't have a clue they're healthy.

PaleOMG- Her recipes are easy to follow and yummy, and Julie is just hysterical. I will never be a fan of cake in a mug, it's way too dry no matter what I've done to tinker with the recipe, but otherwise everything I've made off this site is stellar.