Squat - 45, 95, 135
200x5
230x5
260x5
Surprisingly unpleasant, but I've been feeling fairly shitty all week so it's not too surprising. Expecting a positive change next week.
Pistol:
5x6ea
The side-to-side imbalance is really coming out here. I've been starting with the right but I think I may try starting left next time to see if it gets any better. Sticking with six until I can do both sides with good balance - right now I can actually hit them continuously on the right, and that seems like a fairly good milestone.
GHR:
5x10
Hands by sides.
Stretching and massaging left calf to help loosen it up.
Thursday, December 6, 2012
And today's experiment was...
A roast chicken that I'd left to air-dry in the oven overnight.
I'm going to do this with every bird I eat from now on. The skin was amazing.
Put the onions and celery in the oven with some duck fat and butter as well; in future I'll probably wait a while before doing that, or just not toss them around at all so the onions never contact the sides of the pan and burn.
I'm going to do this with every bird I eat from now on. The skin was amazing.
Put the onions and celery in the oven with some duck fat and butter as well; in future I'll probably wait a while before doing that, or just not toss them around at all so the onions never contact the sides of the pan and burn.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
531PL Cycle 3, Press 5
Press - 45, 65
85x5
95x5
110x5
Easy enough. Keep forgetting the bloody microplates, though.
Blast Strap Push-Ups:
10, 8, 7, 6, 6
Trying to keep my shoulder healthy while doing these. Got a PT referral; going to set up an MRI for the near future.
Barbell Row:
100lbs - 5x10
Upping to 105lbs next week. I'm thinking I'll up this twice per cycle for a bit until it starts to get vaguely hard.
85x5
95x5
110x5
Easy enough. Keep forgetting the bloody microplates, though.
Blast Strap Push-Ups:
10, 8, 7, 6, 6
Trying to keep my shoulder healthy while doing these. Got a PT referral; going to set up an MRI for the near future.
Barbell Row:
100lbs - 5x10
Upping to 105lbs next week. I'm thinking I'll up this twice per cycle for a bit until it starts to get vaguely hard.
Meat - Braised Short Ribs in Chocolate Sauce
Yes, you read that correctly. Incidentally, this is the dish that made me take braising seriously again after 5 years of weekly pot roasts. This doesn't taste "chocolatey" - it's just very, very, scarily good.
Credit to foodwishes for the recipe, though I anticipate adjusting this further. (My other meal for today will be pan-grilled short ribs and asparagus; I'll probably cook the "fat" side of the ribs for an extra minute or so but they should be identical otherwise).
Ingredients:
3lbs beef short ribs, trimmed
3oz bacon (I use uncured; not sure if it makes much difference)
1 cup dry Sherry (~$10 bottle)
1 quart beef broth (I haven't tried this with homemade yet; will report)
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
5 sprigs thyme
2 tbsp white rice flour (regular flour ok if you're glutenous)
2 bay leaves
2 oz bittersweet chocolate (I use expensive dark chocolate from the local pretentious grocer)
1 stick cinnamon
Salt and Pepper to taste
(5QT DUTCH OVEN)
Prep:
Dry ribs, cut into ~4-in pieces, salt generously (min. 1hr in advance). We add pepper later.
Cut ribs into ~4-in pieces; salt and pepper generously
Dry and dice bacon
Finely dice onion
Finely dice/paste garlic
Mix the rice flour with 2tbsp water until it forms an even slurry (skip for regular flour)*
Tie the thyme sprigs into a bundle
Cut chocolate into small pieces
*I'm considering some roux-related experiments here. Stay tuned.
Cooking:
1) Lightly fry bacon for ~5 minutes on medium-low heat to render out the fat
2) Remove bacon with a spoon and reserve off to the side
3) Brown short ribs in bacon fat, all four sides (six if they're very thick). I've found it's best to do this 4 pieces at a time; any more than that and water can't evaporate, so you get an ugly thick mess at the bottom of the pan. This is also why it's important to trim the fat down.
4) Remove ribs and reserve off to the side.
5) Add onions, add a pinch of salt, and cook on medium or low heat for ~5 minutes until soft. We're sweating them here, not browning - no color change.
6) Add garlic and sautee for ~30 seconds (err on the side of shorter)
7) Add rice flour slurry and cook for 2 minutes
8) Add sherry and deglaze the bottom of the oven. Bring to a simmer.
9) Return bacon and short ribs to the pan (bone side up if applicable); add broth, bay leaves, and thyme
10) Bring back to simmer and cook covered for 90 minutes
11) Add chocolate and cinnamon. wash around to make sure chocolate dissolves
12) Cook for 30 minutes
At this point it's edible, but for optimal results:
13) Let cool and put in fridge overnight (VERY IMPORTANT)
14) Remove fat from the top if applicable
15) Return to heat and reduce sauce as desired
This works very, very well.
Link to foodwishes post:
http://foodwishes.blogspot.com/2007/02/braised-beef-short-ribs-with-chocolate.html
Credit to foodwishes for the recipe, though I anticipate adjusting this further. (My other meal for today will be pan-grilled short ribs and asparagus; I'll probably cook the "fat" side of the ribs for an extra minute or so but they should be identical otherwise).
Ingredients:
3lbs beef short ribs, trimmed
3oz bacon (I use uncured; not sure if it makes much difference)
1 cup dry Sherry (~$10 bottle)
1 quart beef broth (I haven't tried this with homemade yet; will report)
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
5 sprigs thyme
2 tbsp white rice flour (regular flour ok if you're glutenous)
2 bay leaves
2 oz bittersweet chocolate (I use expensive dark chocolate from the local pretentious grocer)
1 stick cinnamon
Salt and Pepper to taste
(5QT DUTCH OVEN)
Prep:
Dry ribs, cut into ~4-in pieces, salt generously (min. 1hr in advance). We add pepper later.
Cut ribs into ~4-in pieces; salt and pepper generously
Dry and dice bacon
Finely dice onion
Finely dice/paste garlic
Mix the rice flour with 2tbsp water until it forms an even slurry (skip for regular flour)*
Tie the thyme sprigs into a bundle
Cut chocolate into small pieces
*I'm considering some roux-related experiments here. Stay tuned.
Cooking:
1) Lightly fry bacon for ~5 minutes on medium-low heat to render out the fat
2) Remove bacon with a spoon and reserve off to the side
3) Brown short ribs in bacon fat, all four sides (six if they're very thick). I've found it's best to do this 4 pieces at a time; any more than that and water can't evaporate, so you get an ugly thick mess at the bottom of the pan. This is also why it's important to trim the fat down.
4) Remove ribs and reserve off to the side.
5) Add onions, add a pinch of salt, and cook on medium or low heat for ~5 minutes until soft. We're sweating them here, not browning - no color change.
6) Add garlic and sautee for ~30 seconds (err on the side of shorter)
7) Add rice flour slurry and cook for 2 minutes
8) Add sherry and deglaze the bottom of the oven. Bring to a simmer.
9) Return bacon and short ribs to the pan (bone side up if applicable); add broth, bay leaves, and thyme
10) Bring back to simmer and cook covered for 90 minutes
11) Add chocolate and cinnamon. wash around to make sure chocolate dissolves
12) Cook for 30 minutes
At this point it's edible, but for optimal results:
13) Let cool and put in fridge overnight (VERY IMPORTANT)
14) Remove fat from the top if applicable
15) Return to heat and reduce sauce as desired
This works very, very well.
Link to foodwishes post:
http://foodwishes.blogspot.com/2007/02/braised-beef-short-ribs-with-chocolate.html
531PL Cycle 3, Dead 5
Getting the shoulder looked at tomorrow afternoon.
Deadlift - 135, 185
225x5
250x5
275x5
I think my general technique here is getting better. My grip, on the other hand, is not - had to use a mixed grip and reset between reps for 275. This may be because of all the random chins I've been doing at home, not that I consider that a valid reason to stop.
Deadlift Negative:
145x5x10
These are getting harder somewhat disproportionately to the rate at which the weight is going up. Hopefully that's for grip-related reasons.
Incidentally, I may need to get some baby powder - the friction on my thighs is actually becoming a problem for my grip here.
Good Morning:
145x5x10
Nothing to report, these are still easy as shit.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Cooking - 12/2/2012
Breakfast - 2 Toulouse Sausages
Dried, poached*, then pan-fried in grassfed butter.
Suspect I left both steps for a bit too long and that the poaching was at too high of a temperature
*Brought water to a very light boil, then reduced heat to ~5 o'clock. Left for 20-30 minutes.
Dinner - Roast Duck
Cut off neck fat and the fat around the cavity. Discarded giblets, because I don't have the courage to start actually using them yet. Costco seem to have these in fairly steady supply, though, so I'll probably manage it over break. Saved neck for stock. Accidentally cut very close to the butt; removed for symmetry.
Did the usual thing of snipping the achilles. Tied the legs together - couldn't truss fully because I'd removed the butt. I'm not entirely sure if it's worth trussing a duck, actually - the meat's all dark, so it may cook evenly regardless.
Scored the skin on the breast and a bit on the leg. Tucked wings under the body.
Seasoned generously with salt and pepper. Put a halved garlic clove, some thyme sprigs, and some bay leaves in the cavity, and sprinkled some thyme leaves on the breast.
Roasted at 450 for 90 minutes.
This was definitely overdone. Some portions were nearly burned and the meat was quite dry. I'm very glad nobody came over to eat with me, because I'd've been embarrassed serving this to other people.
Dried, poached*, then pan-fried in grassfed butter.
Suspect I left both steps for a bit too long and that the poaching was at too high of a temperature
*Brought water to a very light boil, then reduced heat to ~5 o'clock. Left for 20-30 minutes.
Dinner - Roast Duck
Cut off neck fat and the fat around the cavity. Discarded giblets, because I don't have the courage to start actually using them yet. Costco seem to have these in fairly steady supply, though, so I'll probably manage it over break. Saved neck for stock. Accidentally cut very close to the butt; removed for symmetry.
Did the usual thing of snipping the achilles. Tied the legs together - couldn't truss fully because I'd removed the butt. I'm not entirely sure if it's worth trussing a duck, actually - the meat's all dark, so it may cook evenly regardless.
Scored the skin on the breast and a bit on the leg. Tucked wings under the body.
Seasoned generously with salt and pepper. Put a halved garlic clove, some thyme sprigs, and some bay leaves in the cavity, and sprinkled some thyme leaves on the breast.
Roasted at 450 for 90 minutes.
This was definitely overdone. Some portions were nearly burned and the meat was quite dry. I'm very glad nobody came over to eat with me, because I'd've been embarrassed serving this to other people.
Friday, November 30, 2012
531PL Cycle 3, Bench 3
Went fairly well, albeit not as well as I'd've liked.
Bench - 45, 95
130x3
150x3
165x7
185x1, 1, 1
Need to work on pausing.
I've been getting an unpleasant sensation in my left shoulder when I'm trying to let the bar settle.
DB Bench:
45lbs - 5x10
DB Row:
45lbs - 4x10, 28
Bench - 45, 95
130x3
150x3
165x7
185x1, 1, 1
Need to work on pausing.
I've been getting an unpleasant sensation in my left shoulder when I'm trying to let the bar settle.
DB Bench:
45lbs - 5x10
DB Row:
45lbs - 4x10, 28
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