The Round Mound of Rebound Does Crossfit

Last June I was lethargic, down about my health and fitness, disappointed for allowing myself to get so far off track.  

I had run half marathons, lost considerable weight before (79 lbs.), belonged to gyms, hired personal trainers, and felt like I had done it all.  Then a good friend told me, "You should try Crossfit."  

So I did and I could not be happier with my progress.

So I stumbled upon the news that former NBA legend Charles Barkley was taking up Crossfit.  At first, I thought this was on par with the likes of Chad Ochocinco trying out bullriding.  

But it was no joke........

And so here is Barkley, The Round Mound of Rebound himself, getting after it at Crossfit North Atlanta.  Watch below as he shares that he is up 100 POUNDS since retiring from the NBA.  This guy has said some wacky stuff in his time, but he was a childhood favorite of mine and I have to say......I'm pulling for him.  Good for Chuck for being 48 years young and setting such a lofty bar for himself.  I sure hope this is more than a gimmick.  

Despite what you think of him, Barkley was quite an athlete in his day.  

Well.....maybe not here........

GOOD LUCK CHUCK!!!

I (Hate) Need to Stretch(ing)

Top 5 Reasons I Hate Stretching

5.  It hurts.

4.  It's boring.

3.  I hold my breath for some reason and then it hurts more.

2.  I get impatient.

1.  All of the above

Top 5 Reasons I Need to Stretch More

5.  It's good for me.

4.  I want to get stronger.

3.  I've always had tight hamstrings.

2.  I want to avoid injury.

1.  I want to be a better athlete for as long as I can.

Top 5 Things I Intend on Doing for 30 Days

5.  Roll out my scapula to increase shoulder mobility

4.  Stretch my hamstrings

3.  Breathe

2.  Make time

1.  Focus

Pain Free and Good Sleep

I've had two major issues in the past few months that have been bothering me.  Both issues have impacted my sleep.  

1.  I have had bad joint pain in my hands all day long.  During the night my arms would fall asleep from my elbows to my fingertips.  I'm talking about that tingling/pins and needles kind of feeling causing me to wake up several times per day.  Walking up in the middle of the night stinks.  

2.  I lacked energy.  It was like that 5 Hour Energy commercial where at 2 p.m. I was toast.  Perhaps it was related to my arm/hands issue at night.  I eat well.  I think I eat exceptionally well most days of the week.  I go to Crossfit 4-5 days/week as my means of exercise.  I could not understand why this was the case, but I figured it was what I was eating and when I was eating.  

So I thought about going to the doctor but I did not want to treat myself with drugs if I could do something more natural.  So I've changed only two things in my life and both have to do with what I put in my body.

1.  I switched my fish oil intake from capsules to a high quality liquid format.  I started taking two full tablespoons per day.  Fish oil is a great way to get your Omega 3 intake in you easily and serves as a great natural anti-inflammatory.  

2.  If you read my post a couple of weeks ago, you know I started juicing regularly including mostly vegetable juices with some fruit.  Wow!  I noticed instant energy from raw juicing.  I can not say enough about this and grow more and more intrigued by the raw juicing scene.  I usually throw in cucumber, romaine lettuce, broccoli, or any other green I can get my hands on.  I'll typically add an apple or pineapple and have thrown in some fresh ginger for some kick at times.  Carrots are good but are high glycemic, so I am careful not to add too much.  I'm trying to work my way up to an all day juicing cleanse to help my digestion, but I'd like to learn about more recipes first.  Aside from that, it's easy to blow through a lot of veggies and that adds up.   

Here's some good information on the benefits of juicing

Here's some information on the benefits of fish oil

It's nice to finally get good quality sleep

Mother's Day and the Night Before

I get pretty excited about a few things in life:  live music, a new gadget, watching my kids laugh, and great food.  Last night, my wife and I celebrated 16 years of marriage in my home town of Cincinnati, Ohio.  While I was looking forward to reporting on some colorful foods to post, I......we came up a bit disappointed.  We dined at a newer local restaurant, Poco a Poco,  a Latin tapas-style restaurant right on Hyde Park Square.  We ordered tamales, sopas, and clams as appetizers thinking the night was off to a great start, but when the waiter came back to report no Lamb Ribs available at 6:30 p.m., I became concerned.  Settling in on the chicken dish while Heather ordered the carne asada, the food was decent, but not the draw dropping succulent fare we were going for.  I guess that's what we get for having expectations, huh?!  

We topped off the night off at Awakenings Coffee and Wine Bar with a wine tasting mingling with a local barista who looked like a cross between Jerry Garcia and Captain Lou Albano and plays in three local bands.  He was hangin' with his buddy who hosts a radical left wing political radio show (uh.....once per week).  Fascinating to say the least.  Colorful?  That's a matter of perspective.

Nonetheless......

It's Mother's Day.  We dined at the historic Cincinnati Natural History Museum at Union Terminal.  I used to call this place The Hall of Justice Growing up.  As an adult, I can appreciate the uniqueness of this historic building.

Union Terminal at night

The Hall of Justice from The Superfriends!

The ceiling inside Union Terminal.  More colorful than The Hall of Justice I bet.

Here's today's colorful food......  

The aftermath of a breakfast buffet.

Back on track tomorrow.......

Happy Mother's Day Mom!

More Colorful Food and Such

If you missed my post from yesterday, I have a new plan.

Here's today's breakfast.

scrambled eggs w/smoked salmon, onions, bell peppers, light english muffin (toasted of course), sliced tomato, and fresh fruit

Here's some more information on what colorful eating can do for you.....


I'm visiting my mother this weekend in Cincinnati for Mother's Day as well as going out for our 16th wedding anniversary (free babysitting!!!).  We are excited to go to a new restaurant on a side of town I love to visit.  I can't make any healthy promisses as I hear this place has their own infused tequila!!  But..... I always plan on making full reports on solid food no matter where and what it is!

Stay tuned.....

Color Your Plate Healthy

My wife has been creating a photo food journal, and it had me thinking this morning as I made my breakfast.  (She's got a pretty cool blog too.)

It got me thinking about the wealth of information I've been learning from my Health and Nutrition Coaching Program through The Institute of Integrative Nutrition.  No one way of eating....no one combination of foods....no one diet......just have a sound dietary lifestyle made of whole foods that are good for you.  Sounds easy, right?!

Well.....between my wife's photo food journaling and the health coaching stuff, it hit me this morning as I made my breakfast. 

A NEW GOAL:  Make a point to prepare as many dishes as possible that are as colorful as possible.  No counting points.  No formulas to come up with blocks.  Not much thinking.  All diets have their places, however they rarely offer people life-long/sustainable dietary habits and some can get stale.  While many state reasons why the CAN'T do something dietarily, this seems like a good way to get nutrients in your diet w/little to no thinking.    

Why?  More color=more nutrients=healthier living=feeling good.  

Here's some information regarding this.

My breakfast:  Oatmeal with fresh strawberries, apple, and dried blueberries.

If you are interested in more information about Health Coaching, feel free to drop me an email at cspinhealthy@gmail.com

I'm also offering free health histories while I am still in training.  This is an hour devoted to talking about your own health and wellness.  We can do this face to face, via Skype, or by phone.  

Grocery Store Wars

  Check out this great video I noticed from an old high school friend's Facebook post.  Kudos to you Dave, master chef and man of cool musical tastes and talents for posting.

Sometimes, food awareness can be just silly, plain fun.

Not so long ago, in a grocery store far, far, away..........