Strength Thursday – 05/10/12 (W/ Bonus Spiciness)

photo - flickr.com/photos/undergroundbastard/

In my quest for lean superhero-ness, I’m following the Wendler 5/3/1 strength training program. Twice a week, Dave and I are hitting the craptastic gym in our Converse to lift heavy and crank through a mini-metcon.

Feelin’ Spicy.

D’you ever wake up feelin’ spicy? Like your attitude has just the right amount of salt and (cayenne) pepper to power you through your day?

That’s how I felt this morning. I got nine and a half hours of sleep last night, and I woke up feeling piquant, ready to commune with the barbell at the gym before tackling my to-dos for the day:

1. Cook Moroccan Meatballs
We’re hosting a little dinner party tomorrow night with Matt Madeiro (formerly of Three New Leaves, currently launching Make Every Day Count) and the lovely Hilah of Hilah Cooking fame to talk about how we can help spread the word about real food and living a happy life. Matt is releasing his new (FREE!) ebook today, so be sure to stop by his new site Make Every Day Count to get in on that action — and treat yourself to a few of Hilah’s cooking videos. She is the cutest, sassiest little thing, and her recent recipe is paleo friendly. YAY!

2. Write a chapter of recipes for Living Paleo for Dummies
My first deadline with the publisher of the Dummies book is June 11, and I’m on the hook for 50 recipes between now and then. As you can probably imagine, there’s a lot of chopping, stirring, cursing, and typing going on.

3. Jump on the phone with the totally badass Tim Huntley of My Athletic Life
Tim is a great writer, big idea guy, and thoroughly nice human being. He’s talking to Dave and I about SEO because it’s time for me to get serious about helping people find my site. If you’re not reading My Athletic Life, you need to start. For serious.

4. Go to see The Encyclopedia Show
You guys, The Enyclopedia Show sounds so badass! It’s a monthly live show put on by local and touring artists/experts from all kinds of backgrounds. They get together in a theater and tackle a single subject to present a “verbal encyclopedia” live on stage. Tonight’s topic? Spices! Can you even?!

This month, the Encyclopedia Show opens upon the hottest subject yet! From the lush history of the Dutch East India Trading Company to the barren future wastelands of Dune, from the precious turmeric seed to the humble salt crystal, spices have proven their worth as a valuable commodity, a preserver of flavor and an opportunity for chemistry in the kitchen! Come explore the depths of flavor as The Encyclopedia Show Austin launches full sail ahead into the delicious, buttery arms of knowledge!

This is a pretty funny post to promo the show. I’ll share all the spicy details tomorrow after we dig into the show.

But before all of that, there was some seriously fun barbell action.

WARMUP
5:00 elliptical
PVC shoulder mobility
10 slow PVC Frankenstein squats
10 slow PVC back squats
10 slow PVC OH squats
10 PVC wide grip-narrow feet squats
10 behind-the neck press + 10 good mornings

STRENGTH
Back Squat:
5 @ 65% of max = 90#
5 @ 75% of max = 105#
max reps @ 85% of max = 120# – I did 9.*

Bench Press:
5 @ 65% of max = 70#
5 @ 75% of max = 85#
max reps @ 85% of max = 95# – I did 8.

*I have to give credit to Dave for helping me get those last reps of as-perfect-as-I-can-do-them squats. When Dave squats, he gets his butt to his ankles every time, even when the bar is really heavy. He never wimps out and does the “baby squats” that I’m tempted to do when I get worried about the demon that lives at the bottom of the squat. Today, when I was on my max rounds, I thought about how Dave never cheats his squat. He either does it right, or he stops. So that’s what I did, too. And I got 9. NINE REPS! Not bad.

CASHOUT
10 rounds, on the minute:
3 box jumps, 20″ box
3 burpees
On the last round, I did 5 or each, just for fun.

What’s got you feelin’ spicy today?