I’ve been reading all of the primal material over at Mark’s Daily Apple, and I really think it is “right”. The biggest draw I originally had to The Atkin’s Diet, and most low carb diets, was that I truly think that our bodies were not designed to handle processed grains and sugars. But, my biggest problem with Atkin’s was the loss of fruit. While I didn’t mind losing bread, pasta, and tubers, I couldn’t stand losing nuts, berries, and, my best friend, the banana.

So, when I started reading about the Primal Blueprint Diet and Fitness plan, and downloaded the free fitness e-book, I decided it was about time to check out the real book. Luckily, it was available in a kindle edition for $10! So, I’m about half way through it, and I really agree with it. Meats: yum. Veggies: Yum. Fruits: Yum. I’m considering giving it a try. So far, the only downsides seem to be my issues with most diets:

• A mild addiction to diet sodas (which, to me, are treats)
• Not having complete control over the meal plan (and Tammy loves them tubers!)
• Eating out (Amazingly expensive when you stick to meat and veggies)

But, in general, I really want to try.  I want to snack on nuts and fruits.  I loves me some meats and eggs.  And, I hate how hungry carbs (and artificial sweeteners) make me feel.  Wish me luck!

PotD

And, on to the workout!  For the warm up, I did the Primal Blueprint Fitness Assessment . . kindof — I messed up on the overhead press one, and did shoulder press pushups instead.  So, I’m going to back off one level to practice dive bombers anyway:

Warmup

• Pushups: 52 (Yes, I could have done more — but this was a warmup) – This puts me at Level 4: Pushup
• Pullups: 5 (Almost got 6) – This puts me at the end of Level 3: Reverse Pullup / Chinup
• Squat: 62 (Could have done more) — Level 4: Full Squat (Prisoner)
• Overhead Press: (Should have done Dive Bombers, but did Shoulder Press Pushups): 10 – Guessing Level 3: Dive Bomber
• Plank: 115 seconds (Almost made 120): Level 3: Hand / Feet Plank

Workout

My workout got cut a bit short, since Tammy had to run to a garage sale.  But, surprisingly, those 62 squats killed my strength reserves, so, it was probably a good thing that I cut it short!

• Superset of OHP and Squats
  • OHP: 3×5@75# / 3×5@85#
  • Squat: 3×5@175# / 3×5@185#
• Pullups: (5 warmup), 4 / 5 / 3

I know Tammy hates it when I post Workout & Diet stuff where people can see it (even if they’re not looking for it).  And, I know that I posted my max on Friday.  But, I hit a new record today, so, I gotta brag agin.  At 41 years of age, I just bench pressed, for the first time in my life, 260 pounds.  Suck it.  :-)

Warmup

I decided before I got to the gym that I was going to try bench again.  I was just not happy with my performance on Friday.  So, instead of doing pushups for warmups, I snuck in a little mini max.  And, I also skipped high jumps, because I’m a little girl, and I don’t like to jump.

• 5 mins on a treadmill at 6.0 Mph
• Bench Press:  3@185#, 1@225#, 1@250#, 1@260#
• Squat Machine: 2×5@135
• Kroc Rows: 2×15@45 — Need to move to 50.  They got hard near the end, but, in general, were a little light.

Workout

On the workout, I was unable to use both squat racks, and, since I can’t clean the weight, for the supersets, I used a squat machine.  (Not a smith machine, but more of the football style squat rack.  Let me try to find a pic: Something similar to this:  

• Bench and Squat Supersets
  • Bench: 3×5@185, 3×5@195, 1×5@205 (Failed on second set, and bailed to next weight), 1×8@165
  • Squat: 3×5@185, 3×5@235, 2×5@285 (skipped last set due to bench failure), 1×15@285

I maxed today for the first time in over a year. I wasn’t really happy with the results, but, they seemed about right. I think the bench and squats were a little low due to doing overhead press and deadlifts first. Anyhoo, here are the results:

• OHP – start @ 90# – max @115×1
• Dead Lifts – start @ 175# – max@ 265×1
• Bench Press – start @ 185# – max @ 245×1
• Squats – start @ 165# – max @ 235×1

I’ll post measurements later (after my shower).