Summer gone breakfasts

I love it when seasons change, for a few weeks you get to see your body adapt so readily to anything nature throws your way. I was just thinking of all the changes that we get to experience in fall. Unlike spring, when everything wakes up, the fall is a time of relaxation, reflection and conservation. The cold of seasonal change gets offset by new preferences for food and drinks. This is also where most of my clients will stop losing bodyfat, unaware that they had two extra cappuccinos, three spoons of honey in their tea and a few extra bowls of hot soup. Your body knows how to call for heat. You rarely think digestion takes energy, but cold foods need to start falling off the breakfast menu. If you've been listening to your body, you probably had something like this today:

PB vanilla oatmeal

1 cup cooked oatmeal
1 tsp pumpkin spice
1 tbsp crunchy all natural peanut butter
1 scoop vanilla protein powder

Once you're done cooking your oatmeal, set your pot outside so it cools off fast, but keep the lid on. It would take about 10 minutes till its the right temperature. Stir all other ingredients into it, then eat with patience. A great way to enhance this would be to heat up two tablespoons of butter (if you have clarified (ghi) butter, it's best), then add the spices for a few seconds and pour on top. This adds extra calories, but it also lets your neighbors know you are serious about your spices.



Other spices for cold weather that you can play with:

anise
cloves
turmeric
cumin
cinnamon
mustard seeds (careful when you heat those up in butter, they tend to explode)
nutmeg
dried ginger
chili pepper

Things that warm you up you didn't know about:

honey
butter (ghi)
sour cream
almonds
walnuts
peanuts

Something else you didn't know:

Oatmeal actually cools you off on its own, so adding any of the above to it will both neutralize and bring it up in energy.

Listen more, eat warm, and if you have no cold mornings where you live, you can always turn your AC up.

Sacroiliac joint

Some images are just worth sharing!

The Bill Hartman Experience Part II

I've been working with Bill Hartman for a little over a year now. Setting me straight seemed like a long time investment back in the spring of 2007. I had a horrendous anterior pelvic tilt, pretty limited shoulder range of motion, weak abdominals, tight hip flexors, lower back pain, shoulder pain, and pretty serious gluteal amnesia. A year later, I am free of lower back pain and shoulder pain. I am closer to having good posture for the first time in my adult life.

I came back to Indianapolis a month ago to get reassessed. I would like to say we've had great progress, but we've also narrowed down new areas to work on. I never thought of Bill as a personal trainer, he is a brilliant coach and physical therapist, those who call him "the smartest man in fitness" know what I am talking about. I have never seen a combination of such an analytical mind, keen eye for detail, and ability to keep open to interpretations.

I would like to say that Bill is my coach, but to me he's like a portal to another dimension, every time I get to see him I get to peek in through a little door and see world of knowledge that I had never believed existed before. He gives you paradigms to work within, where you can try, test, expand, and see your body and your mind change.



Bill just got a new facility together with Mike Robertson and it rocks! They will be training both athletes and health and fitness oriented clients, but the facility looks like it can accommodate any need, both in terms of assessment and rehabilitation and athletic performance.



What you can't tell from the picture is that I am working hard on keeping my shoulderblades back and down, stuck to my ribcage. It hurts right under the medial border and right through the lower traps, right at the spot that you're supposed to activate.

I feels both good and bad knowing it will be about a year before I see Bill Hartman again and see how my new issues have resolved, but in all honesty I look at my year truly happy knowing I have an awesome future of successful and effective training ahead.

Cholesterol

I loved this video on cholesterol. I was reading Paul Chek on cholesterol and inflammation this morning and this video came very timely. After spending a few long weeks in the USA I realize people here are even more confused than Bulgarians about cholesterol. At least we still have some respect for lard back home...

Getting my butt kicked in bootcamp class

JP has legendary bootcamps. I do work out, believe me, I do. Those bootcamps make me feel like I have never trained before. Conditioning can really kick your butt.

Today's circuit, as designed by Mike Wessel, who was kind enough not to call me a wimp after all the curses I used to describe how I feel.

I warmed up learning how to do sledgehammer slams, then did 1 minute of each with 30 second break of:

sledgehammer slams
med ball twists
neck twists
single arm chest press
plate pushes
bag punches
assisted pistol squats

By the third circuit I was ready to see my breakfast again. It was a humbling experience. Makes me dream about doing rack pulls tomorrow.

Boris Bojinov

It is a great day of pride and joy to see our very own Boris Bojinov win a gold medal. I was proud of him when he won bronze a few weeks ago, too!
Long jump is hard, I get frustrated every time I watch him compete, especially on failed attempts...I just want to go...damn that plaster thing that he steps on, such a minuscule thing to screw up a long jump like that...and we are talking millimeters here, where the actual jump is like 8 meters and above...but I love the consistency, the perseverance, the character and all the hard work him and Milko have put into this. We all love him, go Boris!

We'll see that guy at the Olympics, mark my words :)

More Boris on POWERWINS

Words of wisdom from Mike Boyle

I was reading a presentation from Mike Boyle and there is a quote I wanted to share, very applicable both to life and training.

"Pain never precedes dysfunction, it follows it"

So think about this today, become aware of dysfunctions and take action to avoid pain.