Just bought a 1/2 grass-fed beef. Grass-fed beef is much healthier than grain-fed beef you get in the store. Go here to read more about it. It’s leaner, has 10-20% fewer calories, tastes better, doesn’t have hormones or steroids and doesn’t jack up your estrogen levels like grain-fed beef does.

I found this local butcher who sells grass-fed beef cheaper than anywhere else I could find it, and I couldn’t be happier with the results.

Here’s an anatomically correct photo (you can click the photo for a larger version) of what a cow looks like in my freezer:

Banu and I have been doing the Velocity Diet since August 1. The results have been pretty remarkable. We've been keeping a thread going in the forums of the guy who created the diet. You can find the thread here: Velocity Diet Forum. In case you don't know what the Velocity Diet is (most people don't), you can read about it here.

I haven't reposted all the messages from that thread because it's been fun to have the conversation over there, and to have Banu adding to the thread as well. However, my results and pics from today are pretty startling to me, so I thought I would post them here.

Tags: Diet, exercise, velocity diet

I had most of the day off on Sunday, and I was itching to get out of the city. The heat and the traffic were getting on me. I called Banu and said, "Where can I find some trees without driving clear to Cedar City?" She recommended Mt. Charleston, which is about a 45-minute drive from where I'm staying.

After turning left off highway 95 and heading up highway 157, elevation started going up dramatically. Signs along the way let you know just how thin the air is getting. The trailhead I chose (Cathedral Rock) started above 7000 feet. Perfect. Temperature went from 95 in the valley to 73 when I got up to the trailhead. Felt great!

I hike wearing these. They're a little odd, and I found them when I wanted to get some moccasins for hiking. These were the closest I could find to what I was looking for. Here's a picture:



I love how they feel, and my body has adapted well to essentially going barefoot. I normally really enjoy these for hiking, but the trail at Cathedral Rock had long stretches of hard-packed gravel that was slightly larger than golf balls, and sharp. I avoided these stretches completely on the way up by taking some hidden back-way game trails, and the shoes were great. I came down the main trail, however, and my feet were definitely sore on the way down. I think there's a reason why white people didn't find gravel trails everywhere when they showed up in North America: gravel is hard on the feet when you aren't wearing mattresses strapped to your feet. On natural trails, I zip along with the fastest hikers, but on gravel, I was forced to pick my steps carefully and I moved as quickly as I could to end the pain. The good news is that as soon as I found a spot to get off the gravel trail and back to pristine forest floor, the pain quickly subsided and I was back to my quick stride.

Overall impressions of Mt. Charleston: a lot of people were up there because it was a Sunday afternoon. Harleys could be heard frequently in large thunderous packs that climbed around the windy mountain roads. Everyone I met on the trail was very polite, but if you're looking for solitary forest time, you'll have to venture far from the trail.

I found two springs in my explorations and drank heartily from them both. I am grateful for the media scare campaign regarding mountain spring water and giardia because it means I don't have to share one of nature's most enjoyable gifts with a bunch of yahoos from the city. As I was dipping my hands in the water for a drink, some guy asked me, "Is the water safe to drink?" I said, "Not if you're from the city. It will make you very sick. You should stick to bottled water." He bought it hook, line and sinker. I felt no ill effects and appreciated the refreshment of natural mountain spring water that can only be fully appreciated after an hour and a half of hard hiking in warm weather in full sun.

I will head back to Mr. Charleston again soon, but next time I'll try to find a more remote area to explore.

Tags: hiking, travel, exercise, Las Vegas

I have added two new recruits to my fledgling boot camp. My brothers, Aaron and Ryan, and living with me now and I figured the best thing I could do to help them would be to work their asses off, so that’s what we’re doing. Today’s workout:

3 circuits of the following, switching stations every minute:
8 lb. sledgehammer swings
24 kg. kettlebell swings
tire flipping (with a hop in and out of the tire every flip)
250m run

5 min. rest

Dead hang for time, first one to drop had to do 20 pushups. That would be me.

Finisher:
as many sledgehammer swings as possible in one minute. Loser has to do a 200m farmer's carry with two 24 kg. kettlebells.

Results:
Jeremy: 54
Ryan: 57
Aaron: 74

Again, I got the honor of doing the farmer's carry, although I will say that the swings I did and the swings Aaron did looked different, but that's my fault for not being specific, hence I took my medicine without complaining.

Tags: kettlebell, sledgehammer, wod, workout, exercise

I guess the first New Year’s resolution should be to not procrastinate, since I'm posting this six days after January 1st, but I'm trying not to overwhelm myself with life changes. A lot changed for me in 2007. Sapphira has grown from a little lump of sleeping clay into a happy, smiling, delightful little girl. Here's her one-year-old picture I took of her today:

If you want to see more pictures of her on her first birthday, I've added a gallery of my favorite pictures from our shoot.

I changed something else pretty drastically in 2007: I started working out and getting in shape again. The last time I worked out consistently was in 1995 (in high school) so needless to say, I had slipped pretty far down the fitness/health continuum. I've learned a few things about myself since working out consistently since March of 2007. Namely, that exercise is the best cure for anxiety, depression, lack of self-control, ennui, insomnia and back pain that I have ever found. I thought I had back problems until I started working out. Turns out I just had a weak back. I feel much calmer and can go to sleep much more easily than I could before I started exercising.

I will be reporting my workouts here, so that I can track my progress and so that I have a record of my progress.

So, New Year's resolutions:

1. Exercise three days, rest one day. No matter what.
2. Write in a journal every day. No matter what.

That's it. Well, that's it for January. I am going to try these resolutions out for thirty days and decide if I want to keep them. From what I've read, that's enough to form a habit, so if I want to keep these habits, they'll be mine to keep or discard. Also, only taking them thirty days at a time makes them easier to keep, instead of feeling overwhelmed by the idea of trying to do something for a whole year. At the beginning of February I'll let you know my new habits for that month. For now, it's exercise three days on, one day rest, and journal writing.

Happy New Year!

Tags: new year's resolutions, exercise, workout, Journal

5 ladders (1X2X3 reps) of clean and press with 24 kg kettlebell. 1 minute rest between.
rest 3 minutes
farmer's carry 3X up and down the stairs using Ironmind's Eagle Loops (you can find them here) tied to 24 kg kettlebells
rest 3 minutes
20 sec. one-handed kettlebell swing (alternate R and L every set), 10 sec. rest for 8 sets (4 minutes total)

What's a kettlebell? Click on the ad on the right and learn everything you need to know. They've changed my life.

Tags: exercise, workout, wod, kettlebell, Fitness

If you don't know what a kettlebell is, click on the ad on the right. It will take you to the premier website for learning what kettlebells are and how to use them to get your youth back.

1. Your original kettlebell has asexually reproduced and now you have a whole herd of kettlebells, large and small. You may even have a few inferior kettlebells in the mix (i.e. non-RKC) that showed up from inbreeding amongst your kettlebells.

2. You try to wipe the tears from your daughter's face, but you just make her cry harder because your kettlebell calluses scratch her face.

3. You now understand why they're called "dumb" bells.

4. Your wife complains about the living room looking like "a freaking boxing gym."

5. You now realize "swinging The Beast" doesn't have anything to do with your mother-in-law.

6. Going "bottoms-up" isn't as fun as when you were in college.

7. The kids at the park all know you.

8. Your kitchen timer is permanently set to 37 seconds.

9. Your son doesn't want to arm wrestle anymore.

10. Your wife actually is actually interested in sex again because you no longer look like a garbage bag filled with oatmeal.

Tags: kettlebell, exercise, humor