11/6/11 - Neera Complete!

Neera Cleanse Complete


AM:
Weight: 186.5#
Mood: AWESOME!

I literally jumped out of bed this morning and ran down stairs like it was Christmas morning and tore into a shake like it was a present wrapped under a Christmas Tree!

It was glorious...

Welcome Back Shake:
14oz. Coconut Water
2 Bananas
1 Scoop Almond Butter
26g of Max Protein Powder (Goat Formula)
Ice

I plan on training today but going at it easy to ease back in to it. I'll probably rest tomorrow then hop back on the Big Dawg Blog Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday. Then, It's off to ATL to hang out with some of the coolest people! Asked Steve Mullen what he did for training the day back after the cleanse and it was very similar to what I had in mind. Will probably look a little something like this:

A. Back Squat: 5,3,2 @ 85-90%; rest 3 min.
B. CTB Chin Ups: 3 x 10; rest 1 min.
C. Run 400m @ 90%; rest 5 min. x 2
D. Double Unders: 20 sec. AMRAP; rest 30 sec. x 3

Took some after pics this morning. Unfortunately I don't have any before to compare them to. Don't make fun, I'm NOT posing. Just wanted to track how freaking skinny I feel.

This is for you Robert...

186.5#

I'm glad it's over. I highly suggest anyone serious about their health and fitness to try it out. It's really not that bad. I plan on tracking my weight the rest of the week to see how long it takes for me to gain it back. Then to see how much of it I keep off.




Know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.
-Ephesians 3:19

11/5/11 Saturday - Neera Day 5

Neera Cleanse Day 5

AM:
Weight: 188.5#
Mood: Woke up feeling so refreshed.

I feel AWESOME this morning. Felt a little weak but as soon as I drank some fluid I was fine.

I wish I would have taken some before and after pictures. Not vascular but extremely lean.

Last day!!

PM:
Weight: 188.0#
Mood: Feel great! Ready to chew something.

Well the end is almost here. I get to eat breakfast tomorrow. Awesome day today. Spent most of it shopping at farmers markets. Picked up a TON of produce and meats. Spent 6 hours cooking it. I would take pictures but I cooked everything throughout the day.

Chili

Kale Salad

Butternut Squash Soup

Jalapeno Beef Bratwursts

Chicken Chili

Butternut Squash Casserole

Chuck Roast

Viking Hash (with a twist. Added turnip greens instead of onion. Thought it'd be a good way to get some greens in.)

...& a partridge in a pear tree




And we have this command from Him: the one who loves God must also love his brother.
-1 John 4:21

11/4/11 Friday - Neera Day 4

Neera Cleanse Day 4

AM:
Weight: 191#
Mood: Great!!

Slept like a rock last night. Didn't get up to pee once. Head feels clear. Hunger was no where near as bad this morning as it has been.

PM:
Weight: 190#
Mood: Feeling great! Head is clear. Body feels good.

Worked a 10 hour day. Just realized I never once was tired or dragging. I wish I could feel this balanced during the day while eating. Hunger cravings are extremely small to almost nothing now. I find myself wanting to eat but it's more mental than physical, like out of habit. My body feels fresh but not that powerful or strong. I spent my "lunch hour" today working on an extensive grocery list and a bunch of new recipes I'm going to try after this is over. It will be nice to completely start from scratch. If you have the right food prepped, you'll never have to put any unplanned crap in your body.

One more day!

It is a snare for a man to devote rashly something as holy, And afterward to reconsider his vows.
-Proverbs 20:25

Plan ahead-it wasn't raining when Noah built the ark.
-Anonymous

11/3/11 Thursday - Neera Day 3

Neera Cleanse Day 3


AM:
Weight: 194.5#
Mood: Great! Head still has some congestion.

Got about 10 hours of sleep. Woke up feeling awesome! Almost jumped out of bed. Made some of the salt water and started the day. I was pretty hungry but once again, as soon as I drank the mixture, craving stopped. I am starting to miss things like chewing. I do notice smells and even talking about food spark a really strong craving. My best method has just been to stay busy. I've actually gotten a lot done this week considering it takes me 5 minutes to prepare my meals for the day.

Started to drag around the PM. I went probably 90 minutes without any mixture while coaching and doing some mobility work. Screwed up and dropped my bottle on the ground and all my "Dinner" spilled all over the floor. Pretty pathetic feeling. I almost licked it up, haha j/k. As soon as I got home I made my mix for the next day. Drank probably a cup or so and felt a LOT better. My energy is so responsive to the mix. During the day I noticed the urination has slowed quite a bit.

Here are some pics of how to prep a full days meals in 5 minutes.

PM:
Weight: 193.5#
Mood: Really good! Ready to sleep and can't wait to see how I feel tomorrow.

11/2/11 Wednesday - Neera Day 2

Neera Cleanse Day 2

WARNING: What you are about to read might gross you the heck out!

AM:
Weight: 197#
Mood: Tired, Head is still stuffy, very hungry.

Woke up twice in the middle of the night to urinate. Slept pretty deeply other than that. The kit also came with some Himalayan Sea Salt you drink in the mornings. It works like this:

Mix 1 quart of warm water with 2 teaspoons of the Himalayan sea salt. Then find your nearest bathroom....quick!

The purpose is to promote a bowel movement and to flush all toxins your body broke up while sleeping.

I mixed 2 liters of mixture into three bottles to sip on throughout the day. The stuff tastes pretty good. Especially when it's the only thing you can have. I feel my mood start to change, and hunger start to really kick in, so I take a few sips. The sugary, spicy mixture kicks it almost instantly! I'll drink a few cups of water throughout the day as well. Urinated probably 25 times today.

PM:
Weight: 196#
Mood: Feeling pretty good, head is almost cleared up, body feels pretty good.

Drank some Herbalax Tea tonight that is also included in the kit. Supposed to help break things up while you sleep. It  was more of a treat than anything. Sounds silly, but I couldn't wait to get home and drink my snack...

11/1/11 Tuesday - Neera Day 1

Starting the cleanse. This was introduced to me by James Fitzgerald and several other OPT Big Dawgs. It's highly recommended for athletes after competition to help flush the lactic acid out of your system, give your digestive tract some rest, and to reduce inflammation.


So here's how it works in a nutshell.

For 5 days you drink a mixture of fresh juiced lemons (cleanse and detox), Madal Bal syrup (for the nutrients, palm tree sap I believe), water, and some cayenne pepper (break down mucus and for taste). Mix around 2 liters per day of this mixture and that is ALL that goes into your body. Completely flushes and detoxes your system.

Here's a link to what's included.

http://www.neeranatural.com/product_details.aspx?id=1

Neera Cleanse Day 1:

Weight: 200#
Mood: Hungry, Cloudy headed, Stomach hurts, Exhausted.

I'm gonna blame the last two for my trip this weekend. What a blast!

Just got back from Las Vegas this morning. Couldn't have better timing for the cleanse. Went ahead and started the fast and had my first mix around 11am. Just to ease into it I had an extremely light meal before bed. 5oz. turkey breast and 3 oz. sweet potatoes. First day. Not so bad.

10/27/11 - South Georgia Throwdown

Took a long break from posting on the blog and writing my own programming. During the 10 weeks I followed the OPT Big Dawgs Blog and saw some great...scratch that....some insane results. I loved putting it in someone else's hands for a while. Just competed in the South Georgia Throwdown this passed weekend. Great time! Solid event with solid people.  Felt great going into it. Nutrition was dialed in, and conditioning felt great, not at it's peak, but felt great. My strength was feeling better than ever, even though that has not been my current focus.

The training on the blog leading up to this was highly lactic. I have never been so comfortable in "pain". Only downside to a lot of the training leading up to this weekend was that I felt like my motor in the longer time domains might suffer a little bit. But I felt confident on how to pace and control myself  if those were to come up.

Results from the weekend.

Day 1:
Wod 1:
5 Rounds for time:
3 Power Cleans - 205#
7 burpee box/jumps - 24"
10 GHD Situps

5:18, All unbroken. 1st place. Felt great, held at about 90& for first 3 rounds, then went all out. Breathing felt great. Last set of GHD's started to slow.

Wod 2:
For Time:
Run 400m
then
6 rounds:
3 Ground to overhead @ 155#
6 bar facing burpees
9 ctb pullups
Then
Run 400m

12:10, very broken. Felt like shit. 5th place.
Went easy on run, but way to hard on first few rounds of triplet. Misjudged pace. Last run was sloppy.

Wod 3:
7 min. AMRAP:
Ladder
1 front squat - 135#
25 yard prowler push (90#),
2 front squat - 135#
25 yard prowler push,
3 front squat - 135#
25 yard prowler push...

10 rounds + 4 front squats into the 11th round. 1st place.

AWEFUL! Paced very well and had a lot in the tank last few minutes. This one just chewed up your legs.

Day 2:
Wod 4:
15 minutes to find 1RM clean, bench press, & deadlift.
then rest 60 seconds,
60 sec AMRAP: Muscleups (x2 # for every muscleup)

Clean: 300, 315, 330# PR!
Bench Press: 275, 295x, 285#
Deadlift: 475, 500#
Muscleups: 13 unbroken

3rd place

Clean felt awesome! My strength has been there, technique has been in the way. Should have gotten 295# on bench press. Deadlift was all I had. Hitched really bad. Pretty happy with muscleups.

Wod 5:
In 10 minutes:
Row 1500m,
Then in the remaining time,
AMRAP OHS - 95#

92 OHS, 1st place

Paced well on the row around a 1:50. Got off and did 8 sets of 10, then one all out last set of 12. Didn't drop bar, just rested on my back. Eat shit Regionals....

Wod 6:
50/10,40/20,30/30,20/40,10/50
KB Swings - 55#
Double Unders

7:48, 2nd place

Decided beforehand to break up the set of 50 and 40 in half to leave some juice at the end. GREAT decision. Everyone tried to go unbroken and those who did, really slowed down. The sets of 30,20,& 10, I was ripping the KB down. Double unders were getting ugly. Broke on 44 of last set. Quads locked up.


Big thanks to the World Camp Crew for throwing such a top notch event. Met some awesome people this weekend. And a special thanks to my lady for helping keep me running all weekend. She's awesome.

Ended up 1st overall. Great weekend. I was pretty sore for a few days. Going to take the rest of this week off and most of next week. Ordered the Neera cleanse, which is a 5-day detox. No food for 5 days, just liquid. Allows digestive tract to heal and recover. eliminates all inflammation, and expunges all lactic acid. Just a good way to refresh. Looking forward to getting back on it with a refreshed body. Here is a link to the website. 

http://www.neeranatural.com/index.aspx?gclid=CObD_czAiqwCFQwq7AodP3DQog

I'll also be using the blog to post updates on my current small business project, Mobility Kits. Currently working with some attorneys for some legal protection, and some artists for logo and branding. Product design is in it's infancy but I have some great ideas and can't WAIT to put them to life. I think this is a product people will really enjoy.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. -2 Corinthians 5:17