WHOOSH.... BANG!... And 2 week update.

Friday was fairly uneventful. Food was grand, didn't do much exercise apart from a little cycling. I did invent a new concept though, which I claim the intellectual rights to: preparing your food a few days in advance which no one has ever done before, ever. Recipe for the best salad in the world at the end of this post.

IAWLA Ladies' Squad Session

East Coast Barbell, Bray, Saturday and Sunday, 15th and 16th January 2011

Day 1: We started off with a functional assessment from Physiotherapist Emma Gallivan. She really knows her stuff. She picked up on the reasons for some issues I've had with my right hip for a few years but have been ignoring and was able to tell me how to go about correcting it. I was extremely impressed and very grateful to finally be able to do something about this. The rest of the day was training, eating, stretching and banter. Irish weightlifting ladies are the friendliest, most supportive group you could meet. I'm very lucky to have a great coach but sometimes it's nice to have some fresh input. Barry, Harry and Sami are very talented coaches and really helped me to hit more efficient positions. Much progress was made on my lifts. The day was topped off with a lovely massage and a meal at a local hotel. When I got home, I pretty much went straight asleep and slept the sleep of the dead for about 9 hours. 

Day 2: After getting stretched and warmed up, we spent about an hour working up to 80% on snatch and clean and jerks, concentrating on technique. I was feeling a bit tired and this wasn't great but after a bit of a rest and some lunch, we went for maxes. No personal bests but felt I made some technical progress especially with the jerk. My snatch was all WHOOSH BOOM! (This is the sound a good snatch makes in my head!) Ended the day with some vigorous stretching and hips are feeling much looser now. 

Great weekend, can't wait for the next squad session. Great location too. If I'd more money and time, I'd love to train at ECB more regularly.

Food was fairly good this weekend. I made a giant hearty salad and I made enough to last me for breakfast and lunch both days. Apart from that, I had a good bit of fruit for energy before lifting and some whey protein to help with recovery after. Dinner at the restaurant was prawn cocktail without the sauce (so just prawns, lettuce and lemon juice), main was turkey and ham with green beans and dessert was a single teaspoon of Bailey's cheesecake. 

BEST SALAD IN THE WORLD RECIPE

2 packets of chicken thigh fillets

1/2 packet of salad onions

2 small avocados

packet of sugar snaps

2 handfuls of mixed nuts (not peanuts, they're gross)

1/2 a packet of baby spinach

2 sticks of celery

tasty olive oil

butter

1 cinnamon stick

4 cloves garlic

soy sauce

salt and black pepper

cayenne pepper

Basically fry the chicken in butter with 1/2 the salad onions and garlic then remove to a lunchbox. Chop everything else up and chuck it in, crush and grind the cinnamon and sprinkle on top. Drizzle with a small bit of tasty olive oil. Bang it in the fridge. Tastes much better when reheated in the microwave for 3 minutes. Nom nom nom....

I'm not a great cook so I was very pleased with this little effort! 

2 WEEK UPDATE
Weight: 63.4kg (-3.3kg)
Waist: 72cm (- 3cm)
Hips: 98cm (-2cm)
Thighs: 58cm (-3.5cm)

17th January 2011

17th January 2011