- Tuesday, November 30th, 2010
- by amy
Holiday Bodyweight Challenge - Day 16
No, this is not a mistake. We have intentionally programmed the CrossFit Total two days in a row. "But why?" you might ask. It's very simple. We want to get "numbers" for everyone, and since many of you show up on different days, we want to cast as broad a net as possible. "But why do you want to get numbers for everyone?" We're all about measureable, observable, repeatable. Subjective feelings of "I feel stronger" are fine, but I want numbers. I want to know how much stronger you are. Because that is one of our primary goals, to make you stronger. Don't want to get stronger? Our contention is that everyone needs to be stronger, and that when you are able to move more weight around, your life will be better. Chasing kids around, going for hikes, playing sports, maintaining independence; whatever your life is, getting stronger will make it better and more enjoyable.
Robb Wolf has yet another great post, today about spices. We've talked to you a lot about spices, and it's nice to see someone else chatting about them. Spices are what makes food taste yummy, and who doesn't love yummy food? We purchase a lot of our everyday spices from Eats, some specific spices from Oasis, and the balance comes from Penzeys.
Kelly pulling hard for the calories
- Monday, November 29th, 2010
- by amy
Holiday Bodyweight Challenge - Day 15
So, how was your Thanksgiving holiday long weekend? Did you stick to your plan? Did you have a plan? Remember that our Holiday Resource Guide can help you navigate the treacherous waters of this party-filled season.
Remember that our Holiday Party is on Sunday December 12th. It's a potluck, and please bring something that eveyone, including our paleo eaters, can indulge in. There's a competition as well, so if you think that you have the best Fill-In-The-Blank recipe in town, make a batch, and you can enter the contest. The categories include entree, side dish, dessert, and there's a separate kid's category. Party starts at 4:30!!
The blue crew - working & watching the mobility WOD!
- Friday, November 26th, 2010
- by neil
Bodyweight challenge - Day 12
So what was for Thanksgiving? Traditional turkey with all the trimmings?
We aren't hugely fond of turkey so we changed things up a little. I talked with the butcher at Kroger, and had him make us up a 12 rib Crown Roast of Pork. Here it is before we worked on it.
I made a paste of fresh Rosemary, Sage, Oregano & Garlic combined with Olive Oil & Pepper, rubbed it all over - could have had a little more, but it worked. Into the oven at 325 for 3 hours - and it almost didn't make it off the cutting board! Here is the finished product - with maybe a small piece or 2 missing!
We had this with the rest of the menu we posted earlier this week. Pistachio butter & beets - wow!
What was your favorite dish from yesterday? Post it to the comments - or better yet, bring it to the Holiday Party on the 12th!
- Thursday, November 25th, 2010
- by neil
Today is our national day of thanks. We are thankful for our country, families, friends, and opportunities.
We at CrossFit Blacksburg are especially thankful to you, our clients. Without you, we wouldn't exist!
Thanks!!
Thanks from all of us!!
- Wednesday, November 24th, 2010
- by amy
Holiday Bodyweight Challenge - Day 10
There are still a few sweatshirts available. All are grey; zip hoodies are $39.95, and we have 1-S, 2-M, and 1-L; pullover hoodies are $38.95, and we have 1-S, 1-M, and 2-L. We will not be placing another order, so if you want a cozy CrossFit Blacksburg sweatshirt, this is your opportunity!
Please remember that we're having a shortened schedule for the rest of the week. There's only a 6AM class this morning, not the usual 5:30 and 6:30. If you're reading this at 5AM, you probably got up too early. We also will only have a 5:30PM class, omitting the 6:30PM class. On Thanksgiving, we will have only one class at 9AM. Join in the fun for a pre-turkey purging workout! Black Friday will only have two workouts, at 10AM and 1PM. Fit it in your schedule!! Burn those extra calories! Extra bonus points if you show up in a festive outfit or costume ... that's coming from Coach Erin C!!
Hey Wes - Glad you didn't take that waiters job?!
- Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010
- by amy
Holiday Bodyweight Challenge - Day 9
So, what is on your menu for Thanksgiving? Are you bringing any paleo-yumminess to Grandma's house? Or are you throwing wisdom and all your hard-fought gains out the window and stuffing your face with stuffing, pie, candied yams, and green bean casserole with that questionable sauce and topping?
We're sticking to our guns, probably much to the dismay of Neil's mom. Don't think we'll be lacking though, as I like to indulge a bit on holidays too. Here's our menu, and accompanying recipes, if there are any. Many of these recipes are from the Whole9 Life blog, and are untried. But that's the type of cook I am; I like to try new recipes for special events. It's fun! Remember that Melissa and Dallas of Whole9 fame are going to be visiting us in January for a Whole9 Nutrition Workshop. What a great way to learn from the gurus themselves!!
Bon Appetit!!
Appetizers
*Proscuitto wrapped asparagus - just what it sounds like. Very briefly steam asparagus spears (3 minutes or less), let drain and cool. Wrap 2-3 stalks in a small piece of proscuitto. Bake in a 400* oven for about 10 minutes
*Roasted Mussels - This looks like a yummy recipe, with the substitution of olive oil for butter if you don't do dairy. Neil has made a different recipe in the past, and it was scrumptous! But he did it, not me ...
Main Course
*Pork of some sort - OK, I have a confession to make. I'm just not that big of a turkey fan. We've tried local, pastured turkey, we've tried wild caught turkey, and of course the usual Kroger turkey. The best turkey I've ever tasted was one that Neil smoked when we were first married. Now that was a turkey worth eating. But, I'd rather have some other yummy piece of meat. I don't know exactly what we'll be having, but I'm thinking that I'll be heading out to Giles County to Mikie's 7th to see what they have available from their farm.
*Stuffing - not the kind you're thinking of. This stuffing has walnuts, apples, celery, ground meat (the recipe calls for beef, but we're going for sausage, because everything is better with pork!), and herbs. Can't wait to try it!
*Cranberry sauce - no sugar, but it has some figs in it for sweetness. Eager to try it out!
*Roasted beets with pistachio butter - my mouth waters everytime I even think about this. So, roast some beets. Very good start. While roasting, make a pistachio butter by pulsing 1/2c shelled pistachios in a food processor. When nice and smooth, add some olive oil, starting with maybe 1T. Alternate between 1t olive oil and 1t water until the desired consistency is met. Slip the skins off the beets once cooked and cooled, and toss with some olive oil and S&P. Serve the beets with the pistachio butter as a dip or spread.
*Salad - I'm a sucker for salad, even with a "fancy" meal. We'll probably serve this before supper, but who knows. I'm planning on some mixed greens, thinly sliced red onions, yummy sliced pears, some sort of nuts (lightly toasted pecans perhaps), and a light vinagarette.
Dessert - directly from Whole9
Apple “Pumpkin” Pie
by Pamela Barlett
Pamela’s Note: This recipe uses the natural sweetness of the apples and yams to let you have a traditional pumpkin pie without the sugar.
Ingredients – Crust:
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1/2 cup coconut flour
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1/2 cup almond flour
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2 eggs
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1/4 cup coconut oil
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1/4 tsp salt
Ingredients – Pie Filling:
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2 to 3 Apples (We recommend Honeycrisp, since they are on the slightly sweeter side)
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1 3/4 cup steamed and pureed yam/sweet potato
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1 tsp cinnamon
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1/2 tsp ginger
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1/4 nutmeg
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2 beaten eggs
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3/4 cup coconut milk
Directions:
For the crust: Throughly mix all ingredients together except for the coconut flour. Add the coconut flour in and mix well to form dough. Knead dough for ~1 minute. Roll dough out between sheets of wax paper until it’s big enough to fit the pie dish. In my experience transferring the pie crust usually results in it falling apart to some extent, so just plan on patching it up a little bit once you’ve transferred it.
For the filling: Thinly slice, peel and core apples. Coat with cinnamon and stir. Set aside. In a separate bowl, combine yam, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Beat in eggs gently until just combined. Slowly add coconut milk until combined.
Layer apple slices and pumpkin filling in the pie dish. Bake in a 375 oven for 50 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Monday, November 22nd, 2010
- by amy
Holiday Bodyweight Challenge - Day 8
While many of our athletes have left beautiful Blacksburg for Thanksgiving week, there are many of you who are sticking around. Monday and Tuesday will be our regular class schedule. Here is our curtailed schedule for Wednesday through Friday:
Wednesday - 6AM 9AM 10AM 1PM 5:30PM
Thursday - 9AM
Friday - 10AM 1PM
What are your plans for Thanksgiving? Heading to someone else's house, or hosting at your own? Either way, the holidays can be stressful times. Make sure you're getting plenty of rest, staying properly hydrated, and eating as cleanly as possible. Remember that we've posted the Holiday Resouce Guide as a tool you can use to stay on track during the holidays. This is the time to use it!!
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- Friday, November 19th, 2010
- by Carol
Holiday Bodyweight Challenge - Day 5
Paleo Pumpkin Pie:
1 1/2 C. pecans, slightly toasted and chopped finely - this will be the crust
2 C. 100% pumpkin
1/2 C. coconut milk (full fat)
1/4 C. raw honey
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1-2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
2 TBSP. coconut oil or butter
Melt the coconut oil or butter and mix into the chopped pecans. Press this mixture into a pie dish for the crust. Mix all other ingredients together thoroughly in a bowl. Pour over pecan crust. Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour or until the pie mixture is firm.
See what the shake weight can do! Nice work Lopez!!
- Thursday, November 18th, 2010
- by neil
Bodyweight challenge - Day 4
Most of you have heard this when you came in for your intro session. Our goal at CrossFit Blacksburg is to make your life better outside of the box. Some of you are planning on competing in various sports, including CrossFit. Some of you are going to serve our country, for which we are eternally grateful. And some want to maintain and improve their lifestyle well into the future.
That is one of the best things about CrossFit. We all need constantly varied, functional movements performed at a high intensity. But we all don't need to set a PR everyday. If competition or service is in your immediate future, yes you want your performance to constantly improve. But if you've been CrossFitting for a decent amount of time, and your goals are mainly to improve your lifestyle, constantly setting new PR's isn't as important - as long as you're putting in effort required. So give 100% everytime you come in, and you will get where you want to go.
The Holiday Body weight challenge - another way to reach your goals!
- Wednesday, November 17th, 2010
- by neil
Bodyweight challenge Day 3 - 3 reps of each movement.
“Performance is directly correlated with intensity. Intensity is directly correlated with discomfort.“ ~Greg Glassman
Pushing to the edge, past were you thought you could go. Have you ever been in the middle of a workout and thought to yourself, "There is no way I'm going to finish this!" Then, all of a sudden, you're almost done, and you push through to the finish! I know you have - I've seen the doubt in your face, then you pick the bar back up or go out for the next run. I've seen you lying on your back when you finish - with the pride of finishing in your eyes.
There is an expression that I believe was coined by Kelly Starret of San Francisco CrossFit that goes like this - "Crawl into the pain cave". He was speaking of foam rolling - find the spot that hurts and work it. Soon afterwards, you'll feel much better. Well, it's no different in a WOD. The pain cave is the point where you think you can't possibly go on, but you do and when you crawl out of the cave, you feel much better. So embrace the discomfort, and watch your performance go through the roof!
Josh crawled into the pain cave with the 2 pood kettlebell!
