Train Hard.

Eat Well.

Rest.

The reason for Fitness: to be able to explore and enjoy as much of the world as possible, for as long as possible.

After a long and tortuous journey on Friday, it was a relief to get home for a weekend of just ‘family time’. Since early Dec, we have been with friends or family every weekend; this was the first opportunity in what felt like ages to just do our own thing. What a superb weekend it was too! From walking around Burrator Reservoir, to Scratch coding with our eldest, doing colouring-in (DC Super Heros colouring book for Christmas 😉 ), to an awesome family Sunday lunch (with leftovers today, thanks Mrs Nomad!!), it was excellent. I just had to get that in there 😀

Batman rest on Sunday with a Superman mug of coffee.

One thing I noticed over the weekend was that I am starting to get my abs back. Now, I’ve never had a six-pack and am unlikely to but I’m getting back in to the shape I was in during last Summer. I had set that target for the start of the CF Open in late Feb but I’m there now after 3 weeks of disciplined eating (for the most part anyway). I’m now going to take this further and see how I pan out over the next few weeks. With that in mind, I’ve taken Mrs Nomad’s kitchen scales and will spend this week weighing my food so that I can actually see what I am eating – I’ve already noticed that some of my estimates over the last few weeks have been well off. By creating a little notebook of quantities, I’ll be able to gauge my intake better in future as I tweet my training and nutrition.

But on to this morning….

-4C

…it was COLD! It hit -4C as I was driving back last night and no doubt a little further down the slide over night. Walking to the gym for the morning Snatch session was not a pleasant stroll.

Morning Snatch Session

Chatting through my Friday frustrations with one of the CF Watford Coaches (Hat, cheers for the logic!), I decided to switch my programme around slightly so that my Snatch 1RM work is done on a Monday, leaving Wed and Fri for the technique / accessory work. This way, I am rested and more likely to get in to the 85% bracket.

And that’s what happened today. Despite struggling and failing to get beyond 60kg on Friday, I achieved 67.5kg today (90%). Ok, there were a few fails in there but that’s because I’ve been messing with my technique a little as I seek to keep that bar as close to the hips as possible without actually smacking it forward and away.

Evening CF Watford Session

Strength

3 x 5 Strict Press

60 / 65 / 67.5kg

My record is 70kg but I wasn’t able to get to that in the time this evening. It’s fine, I’m confident with upper body strength.

MetCon

30min Partner WOD – one completes entire round while other rests.

15 Cal Row
12 x Clean & Jerk @ 42.5kg
12 x Wall Balls @ 9kg
12 x Toes to Bar

Total: 9 rounds + 28 reps. Between Tom and I, we completed 9 rounds. I completed 5 of those but only because I started first. Had Tom started, I doubt I would have done so well; while I completed each set of 15 cals in under 40 secs, the C&Js slowed me down – first round unbroken, others were 6+3+3. Wall Balls were unbroken and TTB were 6+3+3 or 6+6. My grip strength really struggled but it wasn’t just that. My head wasn’t in it but I’m actually not too fussed by it at the moment. I know I’m in a strong place overall.

Nutrition

MyFitnessPal: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/diary/nomadcelt

Having listened to the very excellent “Eating for Strength” from Barbell Shrugged, I’ve tweaked my requirements a little to support strength and recovery.

182g Carbs – green leafy vegetable carbs, on the whole.
180g Protein – Lean Meat, Nuts, Seeds, Whey Powder to supplement.
70-90g Fat – keeping it closer to the 70g mark while I lean down a little.

These numbers won’t be hit exactly and will require a little tuning over time. I am including more carbs late in the evening though in order to raise insulin, which leads to a drop and a subsequent drop in cortisol, which aids sleep.