From Bottom's Up to Muscle Up: Ashley's Spaghetti Squash with Marinara

Ashley aka BEAST MODE: first female muscle up at PSKC! Eat like she does and good things happen

We lift heavy things, we run fast, we jump, we push trucks...we do A LOT...
That's the easy part. For some the more difficult part is applying the equal disclipline to nutrition. For a lot of us, if we go more than 2 days without making a trip to the compound we start spazzing out pretty hard. You guys are an awesomely obsessive bunch about how much you lift, your times, reps, etc.  Being strong and conditioned is addicting...what if we applied this same love and obsession to what we eat? Only then we will truly unleash the power your body contains.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I'm preaching to myself a lot in this post as I'm not where I'd like to be with my fuel choices. My cheat day expands into days sometimes..and instead of staying in the ballpark of 80-85% good fuel for the week,  my weekly average might dip to the 70-75% arena as I make weak choices...no bueno amigo. So what do I need to do? Man up, stop being a weak lil turd, and make the right choices. Odds are that's what you need to do too.

So to help you guys out, once a week we'll post an awesome recipe that's Paleo/Primal, tastes good, and is easy to make. Before we give you this week's installment, let's talk about a few things;

1) If you've got questions about what you should be eating and why..spend much needed time reading THIS.

2) Cut the emotional anchor to your dieting beliefs. Forget everything you think you know about a "healthy" diet based on "science". The modern American diet does not work, as a matter of fact it makes you fat, sick, and more than likely will give you disease. Yes, it will be difficult weaning yourself off of sugar, grains, and dairy. You need to realize you're addicted to a powerful drug that is cheap and readily available, and your friends will be "getting high" around you all the time. Make the committment to being stronger and healthier and after awhile those old foods you ate won't have the same effect over you. If and when you do slip up, you'll pay for it...bloated, gassy, and you'll be able to read War & Peace on the toilet with all the time you'll be spending there.

3) Keep it simple. Eat things that don't harm you, tear your gut up, and make you feel bad. As my friend, Josh Bunch puts it; "Don't Eat Dumb Sh!t - DEDS"



This week's installment is brought to you by own BEAST MODE! Ashley was not always Beast Mode, this past year she began her Paleo journey combined with training at PSKC and along the way has made tremendous success. As a matter of fact just this very night Ashley was the first female to do a muscle up at PSKC! You can read more about her transformation in her own words by clicking HERE.

BEFORE

From 12 oz curls..

AFTER

to straight beasting!

 Today we offer some delicious Paleo spaghetti squash. If you're used to eating more pasta than the Sopranos, this is a fantastic alternative.

WHAT YOU NEED:
1 spaghetti squash
1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes (make sure only ingredient is tomatoes)
1 large can of tomato sauce (only ingredient is tomatoes)
2 cloves garlic finely chopped or grated
basil- fresh 1 tbsp chopped, 1/2 tbsp dried
parsley- same as basil
oregano- fresh 2 tsp, dried 1 tsp
1 small shallot (looks like an onion)
2 tbsp olive oil
small pinch of salt, and fresh ground black pepper
*Oregano is more potent than basil and parsley, but if you like it add more.

WHAT TO DO:

Cut spaghetti squash in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds and membrane with a spoon.

 Place cut side down in baking dish, and bake at 350 degrees for about 40-45 minutes. Remove from oven and cover with foil. After squash rests for about 15 minutes, fork the flesh out and it will resemble long strands of spaghetti.

Marinara -

Empty cans of tomato sauce and diced tomatoes in large pot. Set burner temp on low heat, stirring often so it doesn't burn. Meanwhile in a non-stick skillet, also on low temp, add olive oil, and diced shallots. stir occasionally until shallots start to soften, then add basil and parsley. Stir for a few more minutes and add the garlic at the very end so it doesn't burn. Stir for maybe 1 minute with garlic in and then add all contents to the tomatoes and sauce. Let it simmer for the duration that the spaghetti squash is in the oven and serve over finished squash. Add ground turkey, or ground beef to marinana as this recipe is versatile.

Combine Marinara on top of the spaghetti squash or toss with olive oil and your favorite veggies, enjoy!

Grocery tip: Kroger had their canned tomatoes on sale in the Organic section! When shopping for canned tomatoes it will say that citric acid is an ingredient, but that's because the acidity naturally occurs in tomatoes.

So cook it up and let us know how much you liked it!

So damn proud of you Ash! You continue to be an example and inspire the men and women of PSKC. Your competitive fire is only paralleled by your compassion and desire to help others.

PSKC INTRO = WEDNESDAY 5PM

Ash vested up and tearing it up

POPS aka the Machine

Due to Saturday's activities this week's intro will be on Wednesday at 5pm! Tell your friends and spread the word. PSKC is the best gift you could offer them. Strength, confidence, community, capability, and health. No where else does and/or offer what we do.

Still wondering if we are right for you, maybe a little nervous about trying us out? Here's what Cindi, who has been with us for a few months had to say after watching a recent video we posted:

"This video make me think back to a few months ago, when I was so anxious to try PSKC but too nervous to get started. I was seeing all of these awesome videos and thinking that it looked so fun...but tough, and everyone was having such a great time. Then finally one day I just went and sooo glad I did! BEST CHOICE EVER!"

Don't forget about Saturday's festivities with Santa's sleigh push. You must register for the race ahead of the time, click HERE for details. We will rally at 0800 at the gym to decorate the sleigh, the mo redneck the mo better. Don't forget to rock a pretty awesome costume yourself (no pops you cannot wear a thong).

Also, if you're checking our website out wondering if to try us out. If you run/walk in the Jingle Bell Jog you'll receive a free coupon to a special 11am Saturday Pain Clinic workout following the race. See the clip below for a glimpse inside a Saturday Pain Clinic:


See you all tomorrow!

Get Ready to Snatch & Run

You guys were some squat cleaning machines! Applying proper focus on technique will allow the numbers to get there. Keep it up...

Tomorrow's will be this week's Mudder workout. It will involve kettlebell snatches. Some of you just got excited, some of you won't come because you hate kettlebell snatches. Instead of staying at home, do some homework and come ready to be awesome. Take a second to learn from my boy Uncle Mike of the world famous Training Room in the Dirty Jersey...one of the best places I've been to train and learn.




Just because you're doing high rep KB snatches does not mean your hands need to turn to hamburger meat. Some tips;

1) Trim your callouses down tonight. You need a nice leatherly layer of skin, nothing more. The more built up callous you have on the hands, the more meat you have to pinch, blister, then rip = no bueno.
2) DO NOT DEATH/CRUSH GRIP THE BELL. You only need to grip the bell with your fingers, hike through the legs in the loaded position, snap the hip, and punch the bell at the top transitioning to the PALM (not middle of your hand). Click HERE for grip saving tips.
3) Utilize the corkscrew method when returning through the legs of the back swing. Remember thumb pointing back towards the junk..

Don't forget we're gonna be rocking the Jingle Bell Jog PSKC style this Saturday at 9am. This will be incredibly fun and definitely memorable. The more people the better!!

Sleigh Push - Jingle Bell Jog - Saturday 9am

I trust everyone is relaxing on the couch recovering from a 3 day assault of BAD FOOD. If you've changed the way you eat, isn't it amazing just how awful that bad food makes you feel? Sure, it tastes great on the way down, but 5 minutes after you're done eating you turn into a horrible gassy bloated mess, a farting machine with distended belly.

Don't worry, if you haven't started today, we will get you back on the right track starting Monday with great workouts at the compound and eating the PRIMAL/PALEO way. Just don't let yourself have the excuse of "it's the Holidays". If you let it slide now, before you know it 6 weeks have gone by and you've lost all your hard earned progress. Stick to your guns...and stay on the 80/20-90/10 rule. And whatever you do...keep training HARD.

That's why we made sure to program was awesome workouts over the last 4 days to counteract the caloric and sugar assault from Thanksgiving. Wednesday was Fran, and I'm pretty sure we have the record for the tallest person to complete Fran...the big man himself...

On Thanksgiving Day we rocked a special 9am lactic acid workout to get the day started on the right track.

Then on Friday, Trappy came up with a nasty lil number entitled "Black Friday". It was an alternating ladder of kettlebell push presses and air squats.
20 push presses r/l
1 air squat
19 push presses r/l
2 squats
...
..
..
1 push press r/l
20 air squats

That's a total of 210 push presses per arm and 210 squats. The fastest times were low 20s with most folks finishing around a half hour. It was a great way to sweat out the gravy.

Finally, on Saturday we had our traditional 9am Pain Clinic. It was a PACKED house. Close to 30 folks working off some pumpkin pie.

We've got another action pack week at the compound. The highlight will be on Saturday at the Red Cross Jingle Bell Jog. Click HERE to sign up and register. PSKC will be participating in the Jingle Bell Jog on Saturday. As usual, you guys don't just wanna "run". So here's the deal, we will be pushing a S10 truck for the entire 3.1 miles! 


The more people the better! Here's the plan. We will need one person at all times to be in the driver's seat and steer the ship. We will need a minimum of 4 people to push the truck, every 1-2  blocks or 30 seconds we will switch out the pushing crew. So 4 new folks will come in and push the truck. The 4 that just came off from pushing will run/jog alongside the truck or hop up into the bed.

So the more people we have the more pushing crews we can assemble the fresher our legs will be. Make sure you register and come ready to be awesome. Where else can you be this crazy and have this much fun?

Due to Saturday's activities there will be some changes in the schedule:

This week's intro will be at 5pm on Saturday.

Saturday's Pain Clinic will be moved up to 11am.

If you're down to push "Santa's Sleigh" please post it on the Facebook page by clicking HERE. This will be epic! You don't want to miss it....see you all tomorrow.

Thanksgiving 9am Blitz

The intensity level tonight was unmatched. It's always a great thing to watch people get their first introduction to Fran. Having the workout set up into multiple heats allows people to yell, scream, and encourage one another the 90 total reps. Damn proud of over the 30 folks who came out and got a piece today.

Don't forget we're having a special pre-Thanksgiving assault tomorrow at 9am! After the workout you'll be ready to feast and watch some football. If you can't make it on Thursday, don't worry the Friday 9am class will purge you of your sins! See you then!

Tomorrow We Fran!

THIS WEEK'S INTO WILL BE WEDNESDAY AT 5PM

On Monday we focused on the overhead squat for the strength portion and doubling as a solid warmup. Then we launched into a partner workout consisting of:
Buddy carry to the Legion and back
100 swings per person
2 rounds.

Tonight we went old school and took the opportunity to teach some new folks the rope climbing technique. We combined the rope climb (pull) with a nice push combo, the ring dip. Then it was time to hit up a 10 minute AMRAP of:
10 deadlifts 185/135
10 pushups
10 toes 2 bar/ knees to elbows

Tomorrow we hit up day 1 of the pre-Thanksgiving assault with Crossfit's beloved FRAN workout. If you've never experienced Fran (21-15-9 of Thrusters and Pullups) you are in for a treat! It may not last that long...but it will be some good living while it lasts! Here's a clip of Crossfit's best making it look easy at the Arnold last year. It was pretty good to witness this firsthand..


Come ready to enjoy the suffering! We'll do the workout in heats so everyone has their own bar and slice of the rig. I want everyone to yell their ass off, get rowdy, and cheer one another on! You'll need all the help you can get to keep moving. Rest up, water up, and warm up the hips and shoulders throughout the day. Set your mental attitude now that you're gonna kick Fran square in her dirty lil mouth...get some PSKC!

Tough Mudder Conquered!

Mudder Maniacs

"Sometimes, to appreciate heaven...you need to get a lil taste of hell"

This past weekend a crew of 11 PSKC'rs traveled out to northern Indiana to eat some mudder pie. All 11 started and finished..together. Approximately 12 miles stuffed with 22 obstacles ranging from ice, fire, walls, electrical shock, mud, water, barbed wire, more mud and ice...completed in very chilly and extremely windy weather.

In the beginning the crew were all smiles with excited energy....

After around mile 4...the reality started to set in. Anyone can be tough when you're indoors blocked from wind and freezing temperatures. Submerge yourself in a bucket of ice water repeatedly, crawl through mud, and wade around in some creeks then the gut check comes into play..

Along the way, the FEAR DOG starts barking and gets very hungry....he quietly whispers in your ear. Telling you it's okay to quit, to stop...your fingers and feet start to get numb...can't breath. It would be perfectly acceptable to quit this stupid race....right?

Then that's where your teammates come into play...crack a joke and put a smile on your face and keep you moving. You might want to quit on yourself, but you damn sure won't quit on your team.

For some it was the toughest mental challenge they ever faced. Many of the moms in the group, said it was "harder than labor". But no matter what...all who completed the Mudder walk a little a taller and stand a little prouder because of what they endured and ultimately conquered.

the best way to bond..

Very proud of the crew, damn proud to be exact. You guys are a rare breed. Your family wouldn't understand, your co-workers wouldn't understand...but those 11 who finished right next to you definitely understand why you did it.

For those who didn't get a chance to participate...don't worry. We'll Mudder it up again in 2012, just hope we can find one a little colder and more windy.

PSKC Intro = Wednesday 5pm

200 total wall balls

This week's intro class will be tomorrow (Wednesday) at 5pm. The compound will be closed this weekend as the crew travels up to Indiana to get our Mudder on. So now is the time to get a piece of the madness.

On Monday we did a wall ball assault....featuring a total of 200 wall balls. The workout was:

50 wall ball

stoplight run

30 wall ball

Legion Run

20 wall ball

ye old lantern run

100 wall ball

PSKC tested...JFK Jr approved!

 Being on travel sucks...away from family, Ohio, and you guys. But there are some silver linings. I get to sit back from afar and watch how cool you guys are. Following you guys through Facebook and the several texts/emails I get is pretty awesome. 

 

First of all I just want to send a very special shout out to Mo and Trappy. These women are incredible blessing to PSKC. They are strong, intelligent, fun loving, and most of all they care deeply about the folks at PSKC. Whenever I'm on the road, it's such a relief not to have to worry about the gym, because it's in tough and loving hands.

Equally cool, is watching you guys support and encourage one another. More recently, it seems the urgency has been rightfully put on nutrition. How cool is it that we have 2 very talented members who are willing to share their journey through the Paleo/Primal lifestyle. 

If you're out there struggling on what to eat I urge to go read Ashley's latest post over at her BLOG:

http://strive4strength.blogspot.com/2011/11/eat-what-you-love-love-what-you-eat.html
"I eat lean meats, lots of fresh veggies, fruit, nuts and seeds and I drink a gallon of water a day. It's what works for me and I'm going to continue to eat this way because of how good it tastes, how it makes me feel, and how it helps me perform."

Next up read the Grizz's latest post from his BLOG:
http://therabidgrizzly.blogspot.com/2011/11/its-not-rocket-science.html
Basically ....here's the way I look at it most of the time. It has to have a soul and it had to be alive. Mashed taters in a box ain't alive, ya heard?

Keep up the good fight guys and continue to help and encourage one another to be stronger, healthier, and better people!

Thank You for Honoring Their Sacrifice

Kendra and Cindi mid-way through the Carver workout

This week we celebrated Veterans Day the whole week by doing a different Crossfit Hero workout everyday this week. On Friday, I was honored to be asked to be a speaker for the SOMC Veterans Day celebration. My speech was short and I just wanted to remind everyone that we are still a nation at war and have been for 10 years.

Hard to believe isn't it? Maybe it isn't..because during this last 10 years, only .45% of the American population has actually served, sacrificed, and donned the uniform to protect freedom. During the past decade how much have you sacrificed? How many names of the over 6200 causalities from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan do you know? The .45% statistic came from an article published by the good men over at RANGER UP. Please click HERE to read the article.

Even though only one half of one percent of the population truly knows what it means to serve and sacrifice, it's not all doom and gloom. That one half of one percent is a very special, rare, and elite breed that have learned some pretty important and valuable lessons over the last 10 years. Just as the "Greatest Generation" after WWII returned to America to volunteer, help, and build America , the "Next Greatest Generation" will be slowly returning to America's business and political arenas to correct and restore greatness.

Yes things are bad now, from our town to our country. That's because our current leaders have been too consumed with blaming one another instead of showing the courage and fortitude to fix the problem The .45% have no tolerance for such cowardliness.

I want to thank everyone at PSKC who came in this week to show their respect and honor some of those .45% by doing workouts in their honor.

Monday was the classic Murph:

Tuesday was Whitten:

5 rounds of:
22 swings
22 box jumps
400 m run
22 burpees
22 wall ball

Wednesday was "JT":
21-15-9
HSPU
Ring Dips
Pushups

Thursday was "Daniel":
50 pullups
run 400m
21 Thursters 95lb
run 800m
21 Thrusters 95lb
run 400m
50 pullups

On Friday, Veterans Day, we introduced the "CARVER" workout. CPT Derick Carver is a good friend of mine and big supporter of PSKC. To read more about Derick click HERE. The workout was sent to me by Derick and it was an example of some PT he would do with his platoon in preparation for their deployment to Afghanistan. We had to make a few modifications like sub a 135lb barbell for the log and cap a 50 minute time limit, but it was wicked nonetheless and a "significant emotional event" for some. See the photo for details:

 Communication and teamwork were key for this workout.

Then finally on Saturday we had the chance to travel out to Cincinnati to go participate in a Wounded Warrior Fundraiser workout with none other than the man himself. The workout was great as we got a chance to try out some flexband training, then we ended with an awesome Strongman medley consisting of:
Odd object loading (sandbags, kegs, kettlebells)
Farmers Carry Course
Tire Flipping
Sled Dragging.

It was a great day as a good amount of money was raised for the Wounded Warrior Project. But the highlight was watching Derick do the odd object loading. See photos and video below:

Most of that stuff weighed anywhere from 100-150lbs. Pretty cool to watch him toss them around. To me, Derick is a classic example of the .45%. He has every right to be bitter and seek sympathy for the rest of his life and no one would blame him. He didn't and never will. Are things easy for him? No..but he doesn't give a shit and you won't hear him complain. He's too busy focused on doing great things. He's too busy being strong.

Continue to learn from him and draw strength from him. Everyday he draws strength and motivation from you all at PSKC.