Day 19 and 20

Due to the hurricane I laid on my hands Thursday, today's blog is going to be about taking good care of yourself. As a former elite level athlete I suffered through many injuries but, luckily, I was never down for long. My siblings were also elite level athletes and some of this prevention comes from them and/or their coaches. Food first:

Breakfast:

Our favorite protein

Protein shake
Lunch:
Reed woke up and thawed out my other bacon-wrapped filet for me and I threw it on the Foreman as I got ready for work. I had it, green beans, watermelon, and a couple left over apple cinnamon cookies.
Snack:
Watermelon and 1 cookie
Dinner:
Turkey burgers and roasted veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, squash, and zucchini). This all comes in a HUGE bag in the frozen vegetable section in Wal-Mart.
Pre heat oven to 400
Take the veggies and thaw them in a strainer.
Foil wrap a baking sheet and spray with non-stick cooking spray
Dump veggies in a bag with oil (coconut oil, olive oil, bacon fat, whatever you want). I used EVOO. Put this in there along with bacon- I used bacon bits because I didn't have bacon. Next time I will slice bite sized bacon pieces (uncooked) and put them in the bag too.
Lots of S&P and shake the bag vigorously- do the hokey pokey and turn yourself around.
Dump onto the baking sheet and throw in the oven
Keep turning the veggies every 10 minutes for a total of 30-35 minutes.
OMG- these rocked- best way to eat vegetables hands down!

These are not my vegetables but I need to add onions! This was taken from:
http://townie.wordpress.com/2007/11/06/oven-roasted-vegetables/

Breakfast:
Protein shake
Lunch:
Mi Cocina salad- we went to a wedding this morning. We then went to Ikea which we forgot smelled like giant cinnamon roll that everyone is walking around eating while they shop for Swedish furniture.
Snack:
We snacked on some dark chocolate on our way home. Not exactly Paleo but we remained positive that we walked out without a cinnamon roll or ice cream cone.
Dinner:
Leftover turkey burgers and roasted vegetables
Went to a late movie and packed some strawberries and bananas and apple cinnamon cookies. Not bad to walk past the popcorn and candy boxes.

Ok, on to prevention and what to do if you get hurt! First off, I have learned that it is best to warm up with light jogging or a row or some air squats. Get a thin bit of sweat on you before a workout. If you are sore, stretch out a little then do the cardio needed to sweat. Do not stretch like a gymnast for 30 minutes before a mile run; stretch after your workout. Stretch very well; it not only helps with soreness it also helps your flexibility so you will be able to perform your lifts, runs, cycling, etc better. Some people love to roll on foam rollers (ie my brother and my friend Candace). I like it for my IT bands and thighs but don't like it much for anything else; would rather get a massage. Try it and see what you think. Soak in epsom salt in the bath tub- also helps with relieving soreness. It relieves bloating too which is just a bonus for us women!

I have found that rotating ice and heat helps relieve my soreness in a matter of 24 hours. Take a large Ziploc bag and a dish towel. Wet the dish towel thoroughly, put some peppermint oil on it and pop it in the microwave for a minute and a half. Put the towel in the bag and place on sore area. Make your own ice pack! Its awesome, cheap, and super easy! Take a large Ziploc bag and put a bottle of rubbing alcohol and equal part water. Throw this into the freezer and let freeze about 2 hours. When you pull it out it will be moldable like the reusable bags you buy at the store.

If you rip up your hands, like I did ice them first. Ripping your hands is a burn. Friction is created between your hand and the bar or weight. This friction creates heat and, along with the repetitious movement, causes your skin to pull away from the other skin or muscle. I found the ice cools the burn, go figure. It is important to use cuticle scissors to cut excess/ripped skin away from the rip! Do not leave the skin on as it is dead and hardens anyhow. Then I hit it with BagBalm (green can at Walgreens) and/or HandEBalm (you can buy online). This is something gymnasts use like crazy. I put it on with socks over my hands and go to bed. I eventually put New Skin or Second Skin on it when I can handle it. I used to put Iodine on them as a gymnast or "Monkeys Blood." I am not sure what this did but it burned like crazy. Last tip: stay off your hands until fully recovered.

Stay healthy- my hands are tired... Treat yourself and soak in the bath or get a massage! You earned it!