The MURPH Challenge
Find your inner MURPH and bring a friend!
Complete the work out in the classic CrossFit Hero form or we’ll help scale it to your level.
Come to work out and stay to play! BBQ following the sweat!
Chicago Rain
The weather is playing havoc with everyone’s mojo today!! Client after client we’ve seen today is slightly off their game. Here is a great article from Steve at Steve’s Paleo goods that makes you stop and think on this gloomy day how we can channel that inner beast. If the article doesn’t convince you to get your game on, while you are there order some dried strawberries at least – they are to die for! 🙂
Balsamic Glazed Salmon
Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend. After the deluge of food that was consumed from what I hear, it’s time to get back to work! Fish is a great source of protein and alternative to the heavier options popular for the Easter dinners. This is my favorite way to prepare salmon and the glaze can be put on any meat! Spring is the time of fresh starts – lets restart that clean food focus and get back to work in the gym!! Enjoy …
Balsamic Glazed Salmon
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup red wine
1 Tbsp dijon mustard
1 Tbsp chopped fresh or crushed dried rosemary
1 clove garlic, finely minced
4 (6 oz) salmon fillets
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp olive oil
Salt and pepper both sides of fish. Heat oil in pan. Place salmon in pan and cook about 3 minutes per side depending upon the thickness of the fillets.
While the salmon is cooking, heat vinegar, wine, mustard, rosemary and garlic in sauce pan on stove top on medium heat and reduce to about 1/2 original volume. Sauce will thicken and look somewhat like loose tar. 🙂
When salmon is cooked on both side, serve with sauce poured over fish. Bon apetit!!
No Excuses Work Outs
In honor of the traveling models we worked with last weekend at Mac Duggal’s Fabulous Model Search, Spire CrossFit released a week of no excuses workouts. These are perfect for traveling or just at home. There is no equipment needed – so there can be no excuses either! Game on!!
Monday:
1 Round
50 Jumping Jacks
50 Push Ups
50 Reverse Lunges
50 V-Sit Ups
50 Skater Hops
50 Dips off a chair
Tuesday:
2 Rounds
20 Step Ups on chair or bed
20 Jumping Split Lunges
20 Push Ups
20 Mountain Climbers
20 Burpees
Wednesday:
3 Rounds
15 Burpees
15 Dynamic Planks
15 Squat Jumps
30 Jumping Jacks
Thursday:
4 Rounds
24 Bodyweight Squats
24 Alternating Front Lunges
24 Push Ups
24 Sit Ups
Friday:
5 Rounds
10 Star Jumps
10 Bodyweight Squats
10 Jumping Jacks
10 Push Ups
10 Sprinter Sit-ups
Congrats!!
Before the Open for 2017 fades into the history book, I have to throw out there how proud I am of the athletes that represented Spire CrossFIt in our inaugural year! We didn’t have much time to train in house, but yet rocked it anyway!! It is an amazing feeling to know the competition is truly worldwide and included almost 400,000 people this year!
Congrats to …
Mike Matura – 21st in his age bracket scaled
Kelly Marten – 11th in his age bracket scaled
Chaz Baggio – 5th in the WORLD scaled
And I have to throw out there that I did WIN the #1 spot in workout 17.4 in my age bracket scaled.
Go Spire!!
Inspiration
So impressed with our gym’s friend, Brent Sopol, ex-Stanley Cup winning Blackhawk. Read his story that has recently been published and be inspired. Fitness can help in so many ways. Thank you for sharing!! Make sure you click into the link for the full story!!
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/chicagoinc/ct-brent-sopel-chicago-inc-spt-0309-20170308-story.html
Come Join US!!
Come on out for a fun day – work out and cook out!
Sweat
No Sweat! Sweat buckets!
OK – which is it?? As athletes we spend a lot of time doing this, but how much time do you spend thinking about it? As I was tackling burpees the other day in my workout, I entertained myself by racing a drop of sweat falling to the floor – who would land first – that precious drop or me? Sweat won. I then moved into planking where it is amazing how you can occupy yourself moving just a tiny bit to make your sweat drops land in different places on the mat. Probably not the thinking that you thought I meant, so lets try again…
The average person in a one hour workout sweats 27.4 to 47.3 oz. That is one to three pound of body weight. The average person sweats 1.5 gallons a day. Scientists estimate one drop of sweat can cool one liter of blood one degree. There is actually a measurement of a bucket – it is approximately 5 gallons. It has been scientifically proven that the sweating process slows down after we have lost 3 to 5 percent of our body weight, although there is not a point where the body will stop sweating – it just keeps sweating.
Study after study is finding that every body is not created equal. Each athlete has their own sweat profile and the total volume, speed to start sweating and rate of sweat are all a very personal characteristics. Yes, sweating more may mean that you are getting more conditioned. Yes, sweating more may mean you are moving your body more. BUT it is also a major indicator day by day on how hydrated you are. The human body is only about 25% efficient – meaning 75% of the energy expended into exercise is the body generating heat and hence the need to cool through sweat and 25% is actually used to keep the body in motion.
There are some factors the body does start to anticipate… The body knows what is coming, so it may start to sweat earlier in the process of exercise. It may also generate sweat faster – kinda like a faucet being turned on full blast rather than a slow drip. Lastly, the body does get more efficient in holding onto the salt and electrolytes. Your sweat profile may be a higher percentage of just water, rather than salt and electrolytes, as you become more conditioned.
Bottom line – go make those sweat angels and be proud of them! You are working hard – wear that sweat as a badge of honor!!
Brussel Sprout Gratin
This is the recipe that changed my family dinners. NEVER before would my kids touch that toxic vegetable otherwise known as brussel sprouts! How easy it has been to change their view with just one recipe. OK – I will fully admit that this is not the healthiest recipe I have posted, yes, it does have some cream and the beloved substance called bacon! But let’s keep things in perspective – I now have 2 children that voluntarily eat brussel sprouts and go back for seconds! Give this recipe a try – you won’t regret it – great one for Easter not that far off!!
2 pounds brussel sprouts, cleaned and trimmed
1/2 – 1 pound bacon – thick cut, cooked and cut in small pieces
salt and black pepper to taste
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/8 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese
2 Tbs butter cut into small pieces
Preheat oven to 400 degrees, lightly grease a baking dish.
Boil a large pot of water – cook sprouts in water for approximately 8 minutes, drain and then immediately rinse with cold water. Cut them in half or quarters depending upon sprout size.
Put sprouts in greased pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour cream over sprouts, then sprinkle with bacon, then cheese, then bread crumbs, then broken pats of butter.
Bake 20-25 minutes. Enjoy!!