Squats and Sodas

After two days of hardcore pure eating and no caffeine, today was different. First it was pre-workout caffeine. Second, there was dark chocolate at breakfast. And there will be some protein powder with Stevia, later. But those are small treats. It's not like eating a bag of mini Snickers. Off for a big squat workout now with my caffeine-fueled focus.

Caffeine was had with a treat-filled breakfast bowl:

1 tablespoon coconut oil
3 ounces walnuts
1-2 tablespoons almond butter
1/2 banana
2 squares dark chocolate (90%)
sprinkled with Paleo Protein powder (Ancient Cacao flavor)

Good times.

There's also good news on the calorie-free soda front...Zevia recently removed caramel color from their sodas. That's a potential carcinogenic in regular soda. Now Zevia cola is clear. This makes it very easy for me to avoid Coke Zero.

Another option for fizziness in healthy drinks is Kombucha, but man, that stuff gives me wicked heartburn.

I've also been drinking more coconut water. It's not calorie free, but it's good and refreshing, like a peppermint tea. And you can get in box form, rather than plastic bottle, so it suits my no plastic bottles challenge.

Unfortunately, when I tried mixing coconut water with club soda, it turned out terrible. ha!

You win some, you lose some.

In today's workout, I won. Big time. Here's how it went down at the Y.

1A) Speed Squat
1B) Mobility

2A) Heavy Squat
2B) Mobility & upper body stretching

3) Front Squat - 135 x 16 (personal best, tough)

And then I stupidly broke my rule of NO non-competing supersets and did this...what was I thinking...I need to fix this for future sessions, as both exercises belong in this workout.

4A) RDL
4B) DB Lunge

Today's Kickbutt Mindset Tip:
In anticipation of the holiday season to come...Be pure in thought, word, and deed today. Eat purely. Choose water and Green Tea over soda. Love purely. Forgive others & wish them only the best. Do not gossip or complain. Spend 5 minutes in prayer or meditation. Hug your family. Praise a friend. Recognize a peer. Be as PURE as can be for just one day. You can do this.

Let's go.

Going,

Craig Ballantyne, CTT

PS - You can do this, here's why...

“You are capable of greatness. All you need to do is believe in yourself. The first step on the journey to success is having a little bit of faith. Don't ever let anyone ever tell you that you can't do something, never lose faith in your abilities, and be willing to take risks. You'll get to where you were meant to go. Just believe.” – Bobby Maximus