Today was pretty run-of-the-mill. I trained, I ate, I worked, all to a somewhat standard formula. I'll still run through the details, but I mention it here because it occurred to me today whilst shopping - details to follow in the food section - that in my experience, people think you're "in a rut" or need to "mix it up" if you eat the same thing regularly, or have a similar routine. I very much get both sides of this argument, as I've been a victim of the trappings of both extremes; I've scheduled every last minute of every last day, including measured meals and contents, measured water intake, study time, reading time and so on, and I've also been the guy who's winged everything, and fucked up a lot! Neither of these work too well for me. What does work for me, and this is certainly not a prescription, is having solid eating, training, sleeping patterns to default to when you're not feeling overly creative or inspired, or just when life gets on top of you and that's the way things are. My financial situation is shifting, hopefully temporarily, meaning that I no longer have the same budget for food each month. It's nothing to worry about as I spent double the amount most people do on my food monthly, and now I'm reducing that to something more average. It's not only an experiment in financial control, but on reducing food selection and spotting bargains! It's also a chance to prove that you can eat bloody well on a tight budget! The point of all this waffle is simple; when budgeting, eating the same for a few meals in a short space of time is often more cost effective than eating something different at each meal. Variety is a nice to have for some, and can be a useful tool, but it's not essential!
Today, I performed several pull-ups throughout the day in demonstration videos, and also a couple of structured sets, totalling somewhere between 40 and 50. I also hit the 6pm class at CrossFit Napalm.
Every 2 Minutes Back Squat at 60% (100kg - slightly under)
Sets 1&2: 12 reps
Sets 3&4: 10 reps
Sets 5&6: 8 reps
Every 2 Minutes x4:
18 Alternating Lunges 40kg
I did sets 1&3 as forward, sets 2&4 as backward
3 Rounds for Max Reps:
1 Minute Row Calories
1 Minute D-Ball to Shoulder 40kg
1 Minute Ski-Erg Calories
1 Minute Burpee Box Overs 24"
1 Minute Air Bike Calories
1 Minute Rest
I totalled 239 reps. I went at something between 80 and 90% effort. This was solely based on what I felt like rather than because of the type of workout. It's the same reason I played it a little safe on lifting numbers to begin with. This way I'll still get some training value, but be able to train again tomorrow, whereas had I emptied the tank today, tomorrow would likely be unproductive.
Equipment
Today I took delivery of Slant Board's latest addition to their range; the double height step-up box. What an addition to the gym this will be! If you'd like one, just click the image to visit their site to view the range through my affiliate link. Fast UK shipping and versatile, well made kit.
Food
Standard breakfast at 7am, consisting of 4 scrambled eggs, 4 rashers of bacon and some berries and grapes.
At 2pm I had 450g of mince with a small amount of cheddar.
At 8:30pm I had another 400g of mince with some grated cheese, followed by mixed berries in greek yoghurt, with honey. This was the point of the earlier musings. I got back from the gym, and realised I had very little in to eat. I could have managed dinner, but wanted to stock up, so I went shopping. Having been buying from great online butchers and occasionally local butchers (I found the quality locally was lacking a little, and better quality was available for the same price online), I've now decided to shop in supermarkets mostly, and supplement from the butchers as I am able to afford. I swept up all of the reduced meat. It just so happens that this was almost all mince, and thankfully a little smoked trout too! It makes sense for me to save quite a bit of money, and freeze my mince, rather than buying a variety of other meats. It's important to note that not all supermarket meat is created equal; there's still some better quality stuff to be had, and if you can get this stuff on sale, you'll be eating pretty well, for not very much!