Saturday, September 27, 2008

Recipe of the week....

Inspired by a dish that I had at Ceviche, a tapas restaurant that is walking distance of my condo, I present Oxtail del Faizal:

* Two packages of oxtail (typically 3-4 major pieces per package)
* 13 oz of dark beer (stout or porter)
* 1 jar of tomato sauce
* 3 T Garam Masala (think..the Indian version of allspice)
* 2 T Chile Powder
* 1 T Habanero Flake (or 2 T crushed red pepper)
* 1 T Fennel Seed
* 1.5 cups flour
* 3 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil or Peanut Oil

1) Coat oxtail pieces with flour. (Put oxtail and flour in a closed container, then shake)
2) Heat pan to medium high, then add olive oil.
3) Sear oxtail pieces (it is hard to get all sides, but your patience will be rewarded.
4) Deglaze pan with beer, then add oxtail pieces to pan or pot.
5) Add tomato sauce and spices. If the oxtail pieces are not submerged, add more beer.
6) Get pot to a rolling boil, the reduce to a simmer (i.e., light bubble)
7) Simmer contents for 2.5 to 3.5 hours, stirring and turning pieces occasionally.
==> Because you are cooking at a low temperature - low risk of overcooking.

Oxtail needs to be cooks "low and slow" because unlike steaks there is a lot of connective tissue in it (just like ribs). The connective tissue gets rendered into the sauce and gives it a great "mouthfeel", just like a good stock.

After much consternation....

I have decided to attend my twenty year high school reunion in NY rather than go to my PBA tournament.

Workout this week were solid and consistent:

Sep 27, 2008

MP: 32kg x 7 x 7
Swings: 32kg x 10 x 15 (easy)
Gotta' conserve the grip prior to bowling...
Bowling Tournament -- hopefully a lot of high scores.


Sep 26, 2008
Box Squats: 285 x 6 x 2; 295 x 6 x 2
Leg Press: 7,9, 9.5 x 1 x 10
Leg Curls: Stack x 2 x 10
Barbell Lunges: bar, 95, 135 x 1 x 10 (need to work on theses)
Heavy Tire Flip: Big Tire x 20 (this is my active recovery)

Sep 25, 2008
TGU: 32kg x 6:00; 40kg x 6:00 (I can't wait to get a beast)
High Octane Cardio: 1:30 minutes - felt really good (had some MCTs beforehand)

Sep 24, 2008
KB C&P: 32kg x 5 x 5; 40kg x 4 x 1; 40kg x 5L/1R (getting a little stronger on right)
Renegade Rows: 24kg x 3 x 10
Swings: 40kg x 10 x 15 (really hard on the grip)
Bowling: 225-195-210-630 (While I will take a 630 any day of the week, I really bowled like crap. I did not get punished for bad shots. I did, however make my spares - which is always good.)

Sep 22, 2008
Military Presses: 32kg x 5 x 5; 32kg x 5 x 7
Renegade Row: 24kg x 3 x 10
Floor Press: 32kg x 1 x 15; 40kg x 1 x 10

Sep 21, 2008
TGU: 32kg x 1 x 11
Bowling Practice: 10 games

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Bravo's Top Chef is coming to Ybor City Saturday Market....

Those from Tampa may know this, but some of my remote kettlebell friends will not. Not only am I an RKC and a PBA profession - but I am also President of the Ybor City Saturday Market. It is relatively small (50 vendors) food and crafts market in Centenial Park in Ybor City. In the time that I have been President, we have tried to focus more on:
* Events
* Food

Well -- it looks like that vision has paid off. Bravo has selected the Ybor City Saturday Market is coming here as part of there promotional tour. This is huge!


League bowling starts this week for me. I missed the last two weeks because I was traveling for work.

Lots of good things going on.....

Today's workout:
Box Squats (50s rest between working sets)
135 x 1 x 2, 225 x 1 x 2
265 x 5 x 2
285 x 5 x 2

Leg Presses:
4pl x 1 x 10; 6pl x 1 x 10, 8pl x 1 x 10; 9pl x 1 x 10; 9pl x 1 x 15

Leg Curls: Stack x 2 x 10

Adductors/Abductors: Stack x 3 x 15

Tire flips:
2ft wide tractor tire x 4 x 9 (flipped across boxing gym is one set.

Did some shopping at the market today and actually got a good night sleep....

Friday, September 12, 2008

TSC Snatch Test PR (sort of): 137 (w/video)

Another snatch PR! I have a friend that is doing the TSC tomorrow, and I wanted to "give him a number."

24kg 5 minute snatch test PR:
* Old PR: 130 (right before the last TSC)
* New PR: 137
==> After further review, many of the reps were not locked out. I believe many on the right hand were due to tendonitis in my bowling elbow. Even thought it is not a PR, it was a great learning experience and fun to put out there.


Just in case you were wondering:
Time Progressions:
1:00 - 35 (35)
2:00 - 64 (29)
3:00 - 90 (26)
4:00 - 114 (24)
5:00 - 137 (23)

Also, at the midpoint I got to 78 reps
78/59 - 127 (or 56.9%/43.1%)
==> I don't know if that means I paced myself well or not. From looking at the video, I would say NO.

Breakdown:
23L/30R
13L/17R
9L/15R
10L/14R
6L
--------
61L/76R

Things that I did well:
* I made it the 5 minutes w/out putting the bell down.
* Effective use of chalk and talc, even though I did tear a dime size piece of skin from under my right middle finger. Not sure if this is a casualty of friendly competition or "it's your fault".
* Started with a dead snatch to start.
* Did not count reps.
* Breathing was pretty good -- could have been better.

What I did not do well.
* Technique got away from me. Hips were dead (could be from being in an airplane two out of the last three days)
* Too fast too early. I felt real slow later.
* Could not do hand switch at bottom. Kept missing it -- this cost me 140.

I was disappointed that I did not get 140, but given that I don't have a lot of quality training recently, I KNOW that SSST/230 RKC-32kg/64 is going down at the end of the month.

I had a business trip this week -- diet and training were subpar to say the least. I still feel bloated.



Friday, September 5, 2008

New Snatch PR - Film at 11....

New RKC Snatch Test 32kg PR: 26L-35R -- 61 total

Here is the video...




Nothing big this week....

I am looking forward to going back to school and studying Sports Medicine. I did the prerequisites in an online class, and they were very hard. Very Hard!

I can't wait to take the core classes!

I am also looking to do some more kettlebell work. I call the the Month of PRs.