<p>BC, let me know how the homemade coconut flour goes. I would love to find a cheaper solution.
Have you tried Trader Joe’s for the almond meal? There were definitely the most reasonable option in these parts.</p>
<p>I just made a batch of blueberry muffins with almond meal. Haven’t tried them yet, but I can already tell, that although I am a decent baker, I am not a miracle worker.</p>
<p>Just took the pork butts off the smoker. 11 hours. 195 degrees internal temp. Falling off the bone, perfect for pulled pork bar-b-q. Of course, I had to sample a little piece that just happened to “fall off the bone”. Awesome. </p>
<p>The great thing about slow smoking a roast like that is that all the fat renders off, so you end up with pretty lean, super-tender bar-b-q.</p>
<p>^sounds delicious. But I would want to slather the meat with some kind of sauce – containing mucho carbs, no doubt. What will you put on it?</p>
<p>Guests loved the ribs. Also the veggie salad – thank you, wnp – and the blueberry pie. Eight people, six bottles of wine. It’s going to take me three or four dishwasher-fulls to get it all clean, but it was worth it.</p>
<p>Ugh. My return to racing 5K was tough this morning. It was unbelievably hot and humid (well, hello, it’s July in Tennessee!) I didn’t rest up for the race, but I still thought I would be a little faster. 9 minute pace for 3rd in age group. Good prize of an Amphipod handheld water carrier with race logo on it and some socks. It’s over.</p>
<p>Hey, at least you ran the 5K. I remember a couple of months ago, you thought that you might be done running! Sounds like a pretty good day, in that context!</p>
<p>And, at least you still have the good sense to pick this race to run rather than the Beer Mile last weekend! At least you know that dementia hasn’t set it… :)</p>
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<p>I cooked the ribs and the pork butt “dry” with just a spice rub. It’s pretty tasty without sauce, but I generally use a bit of homemade bar-b-q sauce – a fairly thin vinegary sauce, sometimes mustard based (South Carolina style), sometimes ketchup based (Middle Georgia style). It’s got sugar, but not overpoweringly sweet. 5 or 6 TBS of sauce isn’t a deal-breaker. </p>
<p>I find that one key to being able to enjoy ribs or othe non-diet dinners is to watch the sides. Have the ribs, but skip the potato salad or the sweet tea or the french fries or the bread (no pulled pork sandwiches). Ribs and a 100 calorie side veggie aren’t a diet-buster. Ribs and french fries and coleslaw and bread and sweet tea blow the diet through the roof.</p>
<p><a href=“no%20pulled%20pork%20sandwiches”>quote</a>.
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<p>I eat a lot of pull pork when we go out to eat. I always take the top part of the bun off and eat the rest. Normally I do eat the bottom, but not always…</p>
<p>This food talk is making me hungry- even after my post-race SteaknShake pancakes!</p>
<p>True, iDad- I did avoid the beer mile and I know I’ve come a long way. Like I told someone after the race, “I don’t mind so much that I’m slow, but I mind that it hurts just as much to push the pace as it did when I was faster!” I’m at the top of the age group, which also doesn’t help. A year and a couple months to go…</p>
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<p>I run mostly during the evenings, or at night, and outside, not on a treadmill. And I guess I understand that it’s going to take time to get used to running and there’s probably a lot of technique that I could work on, like with pacing and stuff. But I don’t know how to get over the fact that I’m slower than 95% of people my age.</p>
<p>Also about the BMI, I’m Indian, and I think the standards for us are different. Normally I’d just be classified as overweight, but because I’m Indian, I’m obese. I’m actually, 5’8" or 5’9".</p>
<p>5’8" with a 32 inch waist and a SMALL t-shirt is not obese or even overweight by any standard!</p>
<p>Played about 2 1/3 hours (3 sets) of doubles in 90 degree, sunny and slightly humid weather. Probably the best doubles (in terms of quality of players) that I’ve been in for a few years.</p>
<p>I brought 40 oz of water onto the court and had another 40 ounces when I came home.</p>
<p>Having a decent fitness level really helps out on the court.</p>
<p>Day 1 of New Rules of Lifting For Abs.
Phase 1 Workout A
Dynamic Warm-Up
Front Planks 25 second hold x2
Side Planks 25 second hold x2 (knees)</p>
<p>2x12
Alternating Front-Foot Split Squat and Inverted Rows (on Smith Machine)
Alternating Romanian Deadlifts and Push Ups</p>
<p>24:45 was my time
Average HR 124BPM Max HR 168BPM</p>
<p>Walked the dogs down the street and back for about two miles. Nothing special, but it’s about 300 degrees outside. I didn’t feel like going to the woods to get bitten by mosquitos.</p>
<p>We’re going out for fireworks tonight which will probably mean walking about a mile there and a mile back. I plan to wear a long-sleeve shirt with long pants - I can’t stand mosquito bites. We haven’t had very many mosquitoes this summer and last - not sure why but I do appreciate it. I put a few bottles of water in the freezer this afternoon so we’ll have plenty of hydration available.</p>
<p>Mixing it up today - 1 hour Zumba class.</p>
<p>I am usually pretty good at picking up dance moves, but this class was full of many advanced moves, sudden turns and had no verbal cueing, so it was challenging to keep up. Great music and a fun change of pace. Tomorrow back to the gym workout.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKvuFkjOrOg[/url]”>Lindsay Jay Zumba | Panvista Productions - YouTube;
<p>(this wasn’t the instructor, but she looked and moved like her)</p>
<p>interesteddad- the Carolina bbq sounds perfect!</p>
<p>hopscout and idad: What’s the premise of New Rules? What is new and different and how is the lifting targeting abs? Serious question.</p>
<p>Congrats MOWC on the 5K, your perserverance thru your injury has been admirable. Sorry the 5K didn’t feel great, but I think a wise woman once said that a 5K always hurt and that in some ways they are the hardest races…</p>
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<p>The name of the book is a little bit misleading… “abs” being a big book-selling buzzword right now. In reality, the workouts in the book are probably the most up-to-date, all-around fitness program available on the bookshelves today. Alwyn Cosgrove is a very clever guy and his workouts are diabolical. These are the exact types of workouts he uses for his clients at his gym [Results</a> Fitness](<a href=“http://www.results-fitness.com/]Results”>http://www.results-fitness.com/). His clientele is 70% women and oriented towards general fitness and fat loss.</p>
<p>Having said that, there are two key themes behind the workouts, both popularized by back-guru [Stuart</a> McGill](<a href=“http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/17/core-myths/]Stuart”>Is Your Ab Workout Hurting Your Back? - The New York Times):</p>
<p>a) Core stability is an essential building block for fitness, for athletic performance, and for protecting your spine in day to day life. The muscles surrounding the spine (abs in front, obliques on the sides, spinal erectors in the lower back, and glutes in the butt) act like guy wires on a TV tower to hold the spine upright and provide the stability to resist rotation/bending. The modern lifestyle (sitting at the computer, driving, etc.) means that without specific training, most of us are desperately weak and/or imbalanced in this area.</p>
<p>b) Exercises such as sit ups or crunches that flex the spine are to be avoided at all costs. We spend our lives with our spines rounded forward, so that’s the last thing we should be doing in a workout. As a result of McGill’s work, trainers like Alwyn Cosgrove has stopped using crunches completely.</p>
<p>The workouts in New Rules of Lifting for Abs have five components:</p>
<p>a) dynamic warmup to improve flexibility</p>
<p>b) power/speed such as medicine ball slams</p>
<p>c) the most comprehensive assortment of core exercises (stability, stability against a force, and stability while moving)</p>
<p>d) Strength training – four lifts per workout (one push, one pull, one deadlift for the hips, one squat for the legs). These are ingenious is that the are designed to improve stregth while challenging the core stabilty. For example, doing squats with unbalanced loads (two different size dumbbells).</p>
<p>e) Metabolic conditioning – Cosgrove’s trademark fat loss programming. Basically interval training with weights. For example kettlebell swings and burpees.</p>
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<p>I love the structure of his workouts. I finished the program about six weeks ago, but I’m now putting together my own workouts pretty closely based on the New Rules of Lifting for Abs structure. I think anyone who has worked out for a while would benefit from this program. It could also work for beginners, but would probably need some customization and maybe going at a slower pace.</p>
<p>Interesting.</p>
<p>Did you buy the book or glean all of this from your internet research?
In other words, would you recommend purchasing the book?
I am already doing a lot of what you describe, but probably not as regularly and definintely still doing the situps and vups, which you say are no-nos.</p>
<p>I love a structured approach, but do best in a group or partner setting. I find it so difficult to push myself when I am on my own. I do use iTrain when I travel or don’t have a lot of options, but I think I would have to find some one else to sign on to the program to do it with me to make it work for me.</p>
<p>Whew. Another new workout kicked my butt. iPod nazi is throwing some really tough core exercises at me. Today started with 60 seconds of stability ball plank (not easy). Then, side plank lifting the top leg (not easy!). Then, pushup position on the stability ball, alternately lifting one leg then the other (not easy!). Then [url=<a href=“Advanced Core Exercise: Upright Bird Dog - YouTube”>Advanced Core Exercise: Upright Bird Dog - YouTube]Upright</a> Birddog<a href=“brutal!”>/url</a>. Then, stabilty ball back extensions with a reach (tough). And ending with [url=<a href=“- YouTube”>- YouTube]Spiderman</a> pushups<a href=“insane!”>/url</a>.</p>
<p>No rest in between exercises. Nonstop through the set, rest for 15 seconds and do a second set.</p>
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<p>I tried one of Boyle’s combo moves in the strength portion. “Clean” two 25 pound dumbells from the waist up to the shoulders (a little jump, a shrug, and move under the DBs). Then do a full squat with the DBs at the shoulders. Then, press the two DBs over head. I was shaking to complete the press on the 6th rep.</p>
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<p>I bought it the day it was released and began the workouts the next day (New Year’s Eve). I was familiar with Cosgrove’s approach and had been doing a workout that his wife wrote ([Spartacus</a> Workout (PDF)](<a href=“http://www.menshealth.com/spartacus/downloads/MH-Spartacus-Workout.pdf]Spartacus”>http://www.menshealth.com/spartacus/downloads/MH-Spartacus-Workout.pdf). I knew it would be exactly what I was looking for. I spent five months doing the workouts three days a week as the main foundation of my exercise. The results were pretty dramatic.</p>