It Sucks the Right Amount...

Got to be straight with the readers and general fitness pursuers. There is no easy way. There is, and never will be a get fit quick trick. The only "trick" out there is to find something that sucks just the right amount. Not so bad that you quit, and not bad enough that nothing changes. It has to suck just the right amount. You find something like that and all your left with is hard work. Not saying that those DVDs Beachbody comes out with won't work, they will if you do them. But there is no trick to what they do. They just tell you it works, you believe them, and all of a sudden your losing weight because you're actually doing something for an hour each day. But that's the point, you found something that sucks just the right amount. So if that's what it takes to get you working out on a regular basis then do it!

Whatever you do, do it right, and push yourself. Hard work is the only real trick.

My forearm after a hangboard workout. Climb on.

Know Your Kitchen + One Great Dinner

Want to be healthy? Get to know your kitchen! Your relationship with the kitchen shouldn't be like one of those "friends" you only see when you have to and might be a little scared of because you never know what they'll do next....we all know someone like that. And it's not a pit stop on your way to the TV. Nope, none of that. The kitchen should be your best friend, always there for you before work, the bright sunshine in your morning, and even a cold floor to sit on after a bad breakup. You and your kitchen deserve to take care of each other.

That being said, healthy starts in the kitchen! Workout all week, great, but in the end of the day, the thing that is going to keep you healthy till you're old and grey is your kitchen.

Rethink your kitchen. First off, and a probably the most problematic device to ever enter the kitchen is your microwave. The microwave should be used for two things, warming up leftovers and defrosting meats. It is not for heating up instant meals or, and despite what I thought as a child, not for standing in front of for long periods of time in hopes of gaining superpowers via the minuscule amounts of radiation pumping into my face.....

.....anyways.

Personally, it has taken some time for me to truly understand my kitchen, how to cook, and what to cook. And I'm still learning, always will be. The best way to learn how to cook, and to best understand your kitchen, is to simply get in there and try new things. Open a cookbook, pick a page, and try it out. Do this once a week and you'll be confident home chef in no time.

Here's a little something my girlfriend and I whipped up about a week ago out of my newest cookbook: The Feed Zone... http://feedzonecookbook.com/

This was an Orange Chicken marmalade dish with a Roasted Beets and Greens salad. Hannah also added popped Quinoa to the salad which I think added a great flavor and a necessary crunch to the recipe.

 

 

Hangboard Workout

Been a while since I put up a post for my climber friends. So here it is. Currently I'm in a bit of a rehab phase in my climbing career, trying to get back in the swing of things, get the fingers strong and in shape. Can't afford a gym membership at the time, but that being the case I've been doing lots of light hangboard workouts so that when I get into the gym I don't spend the whole time worried about my fingers.

Last night I go the idea to put a medicine ball on the chair I use to take weight off while working my fingers. Turns out it was a great idea, hence why I'm writing this post.

Here it is:
As seen in the pictures, place a chair about 1-3ft in front of your hangboard and put a medicine ball on top of it. During the course of your workout this is where you'll be putting your feet. The medicine ball is great because it takes weight off while still forcing you to activate your core for stability. It's one of the most realistic workouts I've ever done for climbing.

From here on out you can do any variation of finger exercises. For my workout I start by getting a good warm-up and continuing that into the workout by spending 20 sec on the crimps and slopers, avoid the jugs. Move your hands around as much or as little as you like and try not to use the jugs unless you absolutely must. I do the same thing for 30 sec. and then again for 1min. Take a break and stretch out your fingers and forearms.

From here on out add 30sec to each round. 1min 30sec, 2min, 2min 30sec, 3min....and so on. Continue this workout until you are forced to use the jugs for a rest. At that point do at least one additionally round at whatever time you made it to.

Remember to keep you feet on the ball at all times and feel free to move it around as much as you like just don't let your feet come off.