Today was a pretty fun workout!  We had 2 teams of 4 people, we started off with everyone on the team doing 150 single unders, then each person on the team had to do 50 wall ball shots (16/12) 50 tuck ups, 50 squat thrusts, 50 low rows, 50 pull ups, then the whole team had to do 150 more single unders.  We did the workout for time.  The rules were that only 2 people on the team could work at a time.  The teams were, Joe B, Jeff, Tyler and Ben for team 1 and team 2 was Cheryl, Beth, Dan M and Dan T.  Team 1 finished with a time of 20:08 and Team 2 finished with a time of 18:43.  It was lots of fun with a bunch of fun people!  Thanks for coming and I'm looking forward to more folks for next Saturdays Team Workout!

This post may sound crazy but, I promise I'm really only thinking of helping you be successful!  We're starting our next 30 Day Paleo Challenge on Saturday Sept 1, have you done any planning for it?  One of the things I suggest is to make sure you can avoid any temptations that might make staying strict harder.  Clear out your fridge, freezer, cupboards of the non-paleo foods.   Practice accelerating past the fast food joints and other places that you will contribute to jumping off the wagon.  Remember, you and I are human and if we face temptation long enough we will give in, we're not that strong, so we should avoid it! 

Something else that is very helpful is to set up all the meals you plan to cook in the week, or if you're good at long term planning, plan for the whole 30 days.  That way you know what you're going to shop for and are less likely to go to the parts of the store that would de-rail you.

What are some other things you might plan for to help you be successful?

This morning was a great workout!  We were outside and unfortunately fighting off a few mosquitos during the workout but it was awesome anyway!  Here's what we did:

20 minute AMRAP - Team members need to stay at station until everyone is done then they can all move at once.

Drag weighted tire length of building and back, 200 feet (M 80#, W 45#)
20 - 2 hand Swing release
10 Squat thrusts
5/5 Lunge jumps


We did a boys vs girls, the ladies team was Beth, Cheryl and Jen.  The guys team was Dan and Joe.  Each team got through 5 times.  Good times had by all!  

See you in the gym!

It's the end of week 4, what changes have you noticed during this challenge so far?  I'd love to hear how you're improving, keep in mind it may not be how you first intended.  For example, the first time I did a paleo challenge, I really just wanted to see if I could stick to it for 30 days, which I did and realized some cool stuff like cutting out dairy made my skin clear up, if I got hungry I didn't have one of those nauseas, low blood sugar dizzy spells I used to get.  So I stuck with it and a couple of months later realized I had dropped about 4" from my waist.  So, whatever your motivation for doing this challenge is, stick with it and I think that you'll get a lot more out of it than you might think.

Paleo Points - how are you doing?  Please send me an update on your point totals so far!  I'm at 175 so far.  

Cooking for the week
One of the things that make it hard to follow a paleo lifestyle and diet is that you have to prepare your food.  You know get some ingredients put them together in some tasty semblance and cook it.   For some that's a crazy notion! Swome folks are just wicked busy and can't find time to cook each day.  Let me say, I understand when 'life' gets in the way of preparing quality food.  One of the things I've done to help with that is to pick my least busy day and prepare several meals ahead of time.  Plan which ones you want on what days you want to have them and pop the ones you're planning for later in the week into the freezer (just remember to take them out in time to thaw) then voila one less thing to worry about during the week.  If you prepare food for the week please share how you go about it, I think we would love to hear how you do it!

Recipe - Steak Dry Rub…Really good!  This recipe is from everydaypaleo.com. I made this for 4 pounds of steak this Sunday and I have a bunch left over!

• 1/4 cup smoked paprika
• 3 tablespoons cumin
• 1/4 cup chili powder
• 2 tablespoons Mexican oregano
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• Sea salt to taste
• Olive oil brushed onto outside of steak
• Mix all dry rub ingredients together in a large bowl.  Place each steak directly into the dry rub mixture and make sure each side is well coated, rubbing the dry rub into the stead.  Let the steaks sit for at least 30 minutes.  Coat each side with a bit of olive oil before the steaks hit the grill.  We used top sirloin but this dry rub is great on rib eyes and flank steak too!!

Please check out Diabetes-Warrior.net and read about how the nutritional powers-that-be aren't on board with paleo yet.

How are you doing on week 2?  I know the point thing is a little tedious but it'll be worth it in the end!  I'll be starting a new Beginner Class next week on Tuesday night.  It will be a twice a week class (Tues/Thurs) and run from 7:30 PM to approximately 8:30 PM for four weeks.  The cost is $60.  I've re-vamped the curriculum and I think it will be better than ever.  

Saturdays team workout will be at Benjamin Franklin park again. We'll get going at 7:45 AM.  It should be a bit warmer than last time!

On Tuesday I watched Luca Paris film his tv show 'Culinary Journey'.  He had a Paleo Chef named Cindy Anschutz on with him, and they put together a great paleo dish.  I got to talk with Cindy for a few minutes and she's been advocating and living a paleo lifestyle for a few years now.  Her website www.cindystable.com has a whole bunch of great paleo recipes.  I have a feeling I'll be on that site ALOT!  Here's one for the grill, I plan on doing this sometime this week! 

Shrimp Kabobs

You can also check out and 'Like' her Facebook page Entertaining Paleo
Entertaining Paleo

Week 2 here we come!  I hope all you Moms out there had a great Mothers day and are ready to keep eating awesome Paleo food!  If you're comfortable with it, it would be awesome if some of you shared your point totals so far.  You can post them on the Facebook Paleo Challenge page or on the Granite State Kettlebells blog and if you're not in that group let me know and I'll add you.  

Kates Mothers Day meal - the simplest of Paleo meals…Meat and Veggies!  I simply grilled some steak tips and asparagus and it was awesome, grilled asparagus with some garlic and onion salt are wicked good!!

The first few folks to do the Benchmark workout did a great job!  Weather permitting we'll do it on Monday for everyone so if you haven't gotten a chance to do it then come in on Monday and you can have a turn at crushing it!  If the weather isn't permitting, we'll do it another day (I love stating the obvious). 

How's are the point totals so far?  If you'd like to share send me an email or if you don't mind going public go ahead and put them on the Facebook Page.  I got 6 points on Mon and Tues and I'm on track for 7 today, the day is young yet though!  

I don't know how many of you are old enough to remember that Wednesday is Prince Spaghetti day, so I figured I'd pop up a good alternative to the tradition.

Tomato Sauce and Spaghetti Squash

I usually get a decent sized spaghetti squash then cut it in 1/2 long ways.  Then I lay them open side down on a cookie sheet for about an hour at around 400, my oven is a little goofy so it can take a little longer.  When it's done take it out of the oven (duh)  and scrape out the spaghetti squash goodness.

For the sauce (my wife usually takes care of this part, cause she's awesome!) make as much of it from scratch as you're able, most of us don't have time to do that so find the sauces/purees that have just tomatoes.  I think Pome is one of those brands, but remember to check your labels.  The sauce my wife makes usually takes all day to cook.  For more details on the sauce just send me an email and I can get them to you.

If you're going to do meatballs then remember to use almond flour instead of regular flour to hold them together.  If you're going to use sausage look for a nitrate free brand.  

So tomorrow we get to start our next Paleo nutrition challenge, and I'm excited to get going!  Remember to keep track of your daily points.  If you are on Facebook and have not yet been added to the Paleo Challenge Page then let me know and I'll get it taken care of.

Resources:
A couple of folks have asked about where to get recipes etc. so here are the cookbooks I currently own for paleo recipes, they have some awesome stuff! There are a bunch of others as well.       

   * Paleo  Comfort  Foods
   * Well Fed
   * Everyday Paleo 
 
You can get a couple of these books at Toadstool Books.   
 
There are also tons of websites with great paleo recipes for free.  

The Benchmark Workout:

"A little bit of Kelly", if you want to take part in the before and after benchmark workout be sure to show up this Saturday at 7:45 AM. 

Todays workout was lots of fun, we did a 5 exercise circuit. We worked for 1 minute at each exercise, at the end of the minute we moved to the next exercise.  The exercises were pull ups, wall ball shots, double kettlebell push press, broad jumps, and ab wheel roll outs.  We broke up into 2 groups of 3 and proceeded to kick butt!  The teams were, Beth, Forrest and Cheryl were one team and then Joe, Tyler and Dan were on the other.  Beth, Forrest and Cheryl soundly kicked Joe, Tyler and Dan's butt!  Way to go everyone that came in to workout today, the more people that show up on our team workout days the more fun we have!  So if you have Saturday at 7:45 AM open then we'd love to see you there!