Mechanical Bulls!

It has been a while since I last wrote a blog. Been busy with study and full time work. Fitness has been going well. Tonight a couple of friends and I went to watch the Rugby League and then had a go on a Mechanical Bull! The first two times I got thrown off I bumped my elbow and knee on the horns. 3rd time round I changed my hand grip and squeezed tightly into the bull and hung on twice as long, however I am suffering now from bruised inner thighs! HAHA, I knew that would happen, oh well it was a heap of fun and I got to pit myself against the bull.

2 weeks away from starting Fitness Evolved in Pukekohe. I am looking forward to helping people become fit and healthy for a life time.

Go well with your fitness goals and flick me a message if you need any encouragement.

Blessings
Grant
International Fitness Professional
(Training at MAX Fitness College)

Large Muscle group or multiple groups vs Specific

A very Happy HAPPY SPARKLE DAY (Sunday) to you all! This mornings topic of interest is to do with Large muscle groups vs specific.

Large muscle group or multiple groups vs specific. How and why squats lunges push-ups achieve quick results.  Different exercises target different muscles or groups of muscles.  If you have time to spend hours and hours in gym and want to sculpt specific muscles you might choose to do exercises which pinpoint individual muscles... bicep curls, leg presses.
If you want to get the most from a workout in the minimum time, you choose exercises which use multiple muscles or muscle groups and exercises which use the largest muscle groups.  The biggest muscles are in the legs so squats and lunges are a great choice.  And push-ups and bridge hold use the muscles of your core (Abs), back and chest so are also very efficient.
By using these exercises in your workout you'll see results all over... fast!


Blessings
Grant (G-Force)

New 30 Challenges 3 of them!

Congratulations if you have made it to the end of any of your 30 day challenges!

I had 2 running side by side.

They were to read one proverb a day for 30 days. This was very helpful from a spiritual point of view and kicking start my Bible reading and time with God.

The other one was the 120 Challenge. This proved to be tough but I managed to keep it up even when I just did not want to do it. Feel stronger though.

New Challenges set.

1.POWER CLEAN, this is not the normal everyday jobs such as doing the dishes, but finding an area that has been left for a while and needs a good sort. Minimum time 20 minutes everyday. Keep a record and you will be pleasantly surprised how much you get through. Sally my wife is joining me on this challenge.

2.Prayer with my wife and committing the day to the Lord


3. Spend at least 10 minutes a day on my registration folder for Teacher Registration.


Go well and achieve all you want to achieve. Have a Terrific Wow Wednesday!

Blessings
Grant
Max International Fitness Professional 

120 Challenge Day 28 Double Diploma Fitness & Business

Happy Super Saturday to you all.

I hope your dreams of becoming fit and well are coming true. Keep at it. Keep forming those habits over 30 days and see your life change before your eyes!

Well I am nearing the end of this challenge and it has been a goodie!

I have found the Push ups the hardest exercise out of the 4 (Squats, Lunges, Pups, Supermans Down hold up hold timing)

However after nearly 30 days of this challenge I have noticed that my strength has improved and that it is isn't a struggle to do the 30 with a hold towards the bottom of the Push up!

I have begun a journey into a third career that being Fitness and Business, a Double Diploma! I am looking forward to the challenge and relishing the opportunity to learn how to be a Personal Trainer. In turn I am aiming to open a location under Fitness Evolved in a few months time here in Pukekohe.

I hope all of you have an awesome day and thanks for reading the is blog it shows that you are interested in bettering yourself in your own well being but also willing to learn. Well done!!

Blessings
Grant

Day 21 120 Challenge (New 30 day Praying)

Hardest 120 Challenge so far on Day 21! Samuel was underneath me on top of me mostly when I was doing my 30 Push ups with a 2 second hold, got to 15 out of 30 and felt like I had done 50 with the resistance! You'll make a great Personal Trainer Son!

I also managed to split 3 big logs tonight in 20 minutes. I have been doing one a night for the past 3 nights and tonight I got an awesome sweat up with cardio and strength together.

Did the 120 Challenge after dinner. Feel quite comfortable and relaxed now. Starting the 30 day praying for Muslims tonight.

Blessings
Grant

Broke 2.2km Course Record Boot Camp

On Friday the 13th July I ran my quickest time to date, 7 mins 34 sec eclipsing the previous record set by One of the guys who beat me 8 weeks ago the first time I ran this distance quick. This opened up my competitiveness and made me want to train harder. Funnily enough over time and with Boot Camp training I went from 8.10mins, down to 7.55 mins, down to 7.40mins and then surpassing the 7.38 min record running 7.34 mins

My goal is to eventually break 7minutes and run within the 6 minute area. To do that I will need to put in some serious training which my next 30 day challenge will involve cardio sprints to up my speed and ability to last longer at top speed!

Go well everyone!

Grant

Getting stronger 120 Challenge

Well it is 13th July and I am nearly half way with this challenge and it is going well. The whole pause and hold thing is really building strength. This morning we had to do 60 Push ups for an instructor being late, (it goes up 20 each time an instructor comes late even by 30 secs! I managed to pump out 60 quick push ups and still had something left in the tank which was a good thing.

Snap shot coming up this Friday, I will be running with the front guys again and it should be quite a quick time. Its all about mentality and getting the mind prepared to go into action with a fast run. I am looking forward to it. I will be running most of the session on Friday.

My spiritual challenge is going well to. I have been reading proverbs out of the Bible and being enjoying getting back into committing my day to the Lord and also praying with my wife each day which has created more intimacy (Intimacy can be seen as In to me see)

Have a great week.

Blessings
Grant

Unexpected 300 Push ups: Expert Kicker!!!

 

               

Liam teaching me how to place and kick the ball, pointed toes a must and left foot has to plant well for direction and consistency of kick.

2 Diamond Push ups for every missed kick over the posts! (The post were a trampoline frame tipped on its side!)

Liam didn't have to do many Push ups!!

This afternoon Liam and I played some footy and I got Liam to teach me how to kick! I wanted to make the stakes higher by betting in Push ups to catch the ball if it went wide of the posts and landed in the drop zone we had marked out. I excepted a bet of 150 and DROPPED the ball, doh! then another 50 for Liam catching it off my kick! I managed to pump out the Push ups in sets of 50, 25's and 10's nailing all of them after one hour! Then we played one on one Touch Rugby and the old fulla had to pull out the tricks to try and beat a fast paced side stepping young dude. I scraped in with a 5-4 win! Just!

Results of Snap Shot today

I felt quite lethargic this morning leading up to the run. I jogged for 1.5km approx to warm up. Then I ran the 2.2 km going through very quick times for 1/4 and halfway point, I was on target for a 7.30 minute 2.2km run but the 2nd part was much harder. I think it was up hill slightly on the way back.

I finished with a reasonable time of 7.50 minutes. My personal best over this distance is 7.40 mins

Then I jogged for 3 minutes and found a patch on the side of the road for pushups and sit ups and Bridge hold.

I decided to have a  crack at 100 Push ups starting from my knees. I pumped out 95 and decided to do the last 5 on my toes!

I then started the push ups which were hard and I was feeling it by 40 but still managed to kick on and do 100!

Then a Bridge Hold for 3 minutes. It was great having Liam there to encourage me and also do the PUPS SITUPS and Bridge Hold.

3 Minutes B hold was hard yakka!

Ran another 4.5 km back up the hill to the house we are staying at. 

Feeling good and time to refuel the body with good food.

120 Challenge still to go this afternoon with some stone moving to.

Have a great day!
Go well

Lower, Hold, Raise! 120 Challenge hard!

After doing the 120 challenge for 3 days I have found the Push ups to be quite hard. Even though it is only 30, the hold makes it 3 times harder to do a set!

Today's Menu is a goodie:

Snap Shot test:

I am taking a young 16 year old reasonably fit Rugby player to do.

We will use Mapmyrun.com to make up a course.

2.2km
100 Push up to cadence
100 Sit up to cadence
3 minute bridge hold.

After this I plan to show him the 11 exercise regime I use to do earlier on this year

Lunge Kick
Cross over push up
Mountain Climb
Sumo Twist
Sumo Kick
Leg Raise
Sit up legs wide
Tricep extension
Plank hold
Sideways Lunge
Wall sit leg raise

Then we will do the 120 Challenge later to finish off
:)

Physical and Spiritual 30 day Challenges

I have decided to run 2 concurrent challenges side by side to make sure I am getting a wholistic approach to life.

So here it is. I am doing 4 exercises for 30 days at 30 reps each making 120. However this is continous exercise and has a hold of one sec as you go down and up. See link for technique
 http://youtu.be/pW8nQ9PKgi0

My spiritual challenge is to read one proverb a day for 30 days reflecting on the passage and what stands out for me. Feeding this back to the others who are doing the challenge as well.
Started on July 1st for these challenges.

Who's in?

Blessings
Grant

Developing Strong Muscles

Last month I took up the challenge of 100 Push ups a day. Even though this wasn't a difficult challenge physically, I found the consistency every day difficult. There were 1 or 2 times I wasn't well or absolutely knackered and it was late at night but I pushed through not missing one night in the 30 days.

I am feeling much stronger now and noticing that I can do hard labour like digging trenches all day and not feel to wasted or sore.

I have been challenged with 3 colds in 5 weeks but it hasn't stopped me but I have had to take the odd day out to recover which I am doing today.

I am leading the Charli group tomorrow for Boot Camp's session as the  lead instructor which I am looking forward to.
The other instructor will play a 2 IC role and support me running the session.

Go well and keep a great balanced life style that makes you feel great and postively affects those around you.

I will leave you with this quote:

"Sow an act...reap a habit; Sow a habit...reap a character; Sow a character...reap a destiny."

  --  George Dana Boardman

OverDay 30! 3000 Push ups completed Massive weekend Work!

Wow, what a journey over the past 30 days! I have been running reoccurring challenges with eating habits being stable with the odd blow odd here and there, saving money by planning and making decisions not to spend on incidentals etc.

Out of the 30 days there 4 nights I remember where I was knackered and just didn't care about doing Push ups at all!! However through the discipline of the challenge I kept going and funnily enough last night was the hardest night of the entire challenge and I actually contemplated not doing a set of 100 after getting out of the shower at 10.30 working for over 3 days solid with 4-5am starts and 10.40pm finishes! I didn't realise I was actually on Day 30 last night!

So there we go, it is complete, part of it was easy and the other was quite difficult. I did also had a couple of weeks of having a cold twice in the 30 day challenge.But like anything nothing in life is worth it unless there has been some sacrifice and hard work!

WHAT's the NEW CHALLENGE going to be? Stay tuned!

Have an awesome week of wellness and excising your mind body and spirit!

Cheers
Grant

Day 23 Push ups (100) Challenge

Well it has been a real journey with this challenge. The hardest part has been when I have been sick and unwell for a number of weeks but still managed to push out the 100 or more a day in various different repetitions.

My diet is still going well and I am eating really well still even after my 30 day challenge on no refined sugar!

My fitness levels have increase even as I have done a little less exercise being an instructor for Boot Camp at the Auckland Domain.

Body shape has changed and feeling great with a good posture in my stance from all the push ups and other exercises.

Have a great week of eating remember the 80/20 rule, which basically means for 80% of the time be good with food and exercise and then 20% be a bit more lenient. It all depends on how quickly you want to achieve your personal goals.

Cheers
Grant

Know when to REST!

Well after coming up with this challenge of 4800 reps in 48 hours I knew I was red lining when I got up at 5am on Saturday the 10th June and I felt really crusty with my cold symptoms still lingering! So I felt to not do any exercise that morning and focused on my testimony that I was about to do at the Full Gospel Business Mens meeting.

As the day went on I had to scoot around the Market to get vege and a few things from the supermarket.
Straight up to Auckland to my rental to do work on the place to get it ready to sell.

Ran over time and needed to be at Eden Park by 4.30pm, managed to get there at 4.40pm but still in time for briefing. I was a team leader on the North concourse and enjoyed talking to approx 500 people in 2 hours!

Back to my mates place Rohan and Romelo and I said to Rohan that I was knackered but to encourage me to knock over my 100 push ups for the 30 day challenge which I have made every day the 100 or more.

In bed by 10.30 and slept soundly to 6.30am.

Drove to Pukekohe to drum 2 services which went well. I managed to concentrate on a mandarin and a raw carrot! Very unusual.

Rested most of the afternoon and evening. Pumped out 100 PuPs in 7 x 10 and a set of 30

Woke up Monday 12th June feeling that I had finally kicked the cold in the nono (butt!).

Went to Boot Camp and had a great morning co-instructing with Hollie.

Did 30 PUPS this morning at Boot Camp and then tonight I did a set of 35 15 10 10 to make 70.

100 completed for Monday.

On Day 17 completed and still going strong! Noticed the big difference in chest area!

Incidental challenge is going well, still watching what I am buying and trying to save money through cutting back on other things.

Have a great week!

600 down 4200 to go in 48 Challenge

Just completed 600 reps in sets of 5 going through each exercise at 20 reps. It was a little bit of a struggled towards the end but none the less completed in 22 mins! 7 sessions to go! Aiming for 3 tomorrow and 4 on Sunday.

You can do it! Try some :)

Grant

48 hour Challenge Friday 5pm - Sun 5pm

6 exercises

Aiming to do sets of 100 for each in one session and do this 8 times over the 48 hour period

Push ups
Tricep dips

Sit ups
Supermans

Lunges
Squats

No equipment needed

Are you in????

See how we go.
Cheers
Grant

48 hours 4800 Rep Challenge!

Well after a good sleep in and taking it easy today I was still tired! But with this 2nd bout of the same cold finally going I am gearing up for a challenge this weekend to complete 4800 repetitions using 6 different exercises.
for legs I am doing
Squats and Lunges

For ABs and lower back
Sit ups
Supermans

For Chest and Arms
Push ups
Tricep dips

I worked out that if I do 100 each in one session that will take  8 sessions over the 48 hour period.

Tonight I was struggling with tiredness and not interested in Push ups but after reading my mates message about loosing 14kg and being inspired by my blogging and fitness I got down and did 5 x 20 in 20 minutes knocking over my push ups before heading to bed.

9km run for Boot Camp tomorrow, part of the new Powerade Challenge down by the waterfront.

Have a great night!
Grant

Radiator hose snapped NOT GOOD! 100 PUPS done!

Well it things could not have gotten worse than yesterday today was that day!

Still I was determine for it not to ruin my day and that I would still give God all the Glory.

Hose snapped and car over heated close to the Domain this morning on the way to Boot Camp.

I managed to hobble there and get to the meeting point with other instructors in time otherwise it was 80 Push ups!

2nd time leading the Charlie group this morning and it went 3 times better than yesterday.

Got my current mechanic to order a towie for me and caught the train to Manukau to meet my other colleagues and 40 children plus 20 parents who arrived on the bus.

Got dropped off at home and rode back to work.

Completed my work in the afternoon for Kindy.

Then caught 2 trains from Pukekohe to New Lynn to pick up the car and then drove to Rohan and Romelo's

Finished of 2 sets of 15 Push ups and then a set of 40 to make 70. That hurt! But managed okay.

Drove home, car fixed and happy to be home after a very long Day!

Tough Day today

I got to lead the Charlie team at The Domain today as part of Boot Camp. Did 30 Push ups with them

It went well and it was full on trying to remember everything.

I got back late from Auckland and needed to drop the car off to Sal which made me even later and I was a bit flustered by the time I got to work. Forgot about 2 birthdays been done today and I had to organise several things with the children. After forgetting several things I became a bit stressed!

At lunch time I ran home in the drizzle rain 3 km and had a good lunch. Went back to work with a better attitude and more energy.

Did a set of 35 and had a rest and then did 35 more 10 minutes later. These were quicker than the usual.

Mowed lawns in a tricky place tonight around 5.30pm before the rain and dark set in.

Had a yummy dinner that Sally cooked. Tuna pie! and fresh vege, yum.

Still getting over cold but no lost of energy.

Look out week here I come!

Eat well, Sleep well, Exercise well!

Grant

Long Day Good workout

Being a holiday weekend and having Monday off it was good to crank out a bit extra work for a friend.
We did concreting, finishing off a fence and putting a letter box in.

I biked to his house which was actually quicker than the car!

When I got home I was pretty tired so had a cruzy afternoon and prepared my testimony for Saturday's up and coming speaking engagement. Also chopped up a whole lot of kindling for the fire.

I cooked for Sally and then it was close to Samuels shower time and I still hadn't done my 100 so I decided it was now or never and did 10 sets of 10 in 10 minutes! It was hard yakka but got there and felt good about myself.

This cold has tried to come back a 2nd time which has not been helpful at all! But alas I'm still fighting it and we will win!

Have a great week of eating and exercise.
Blessings
Grant 

Big Day with extra Work and 100 Push ups!

Today I drummed at church which was awesome. I was on my Djembe which is a hand drum from Africa. Good exercise.

I did 20 Push ups as a warm up.

Then I headed home and had some bacon and eggs which filled the spot perfectly.

Then I went to Tuakau and mowed some lawns.
Came home and mowed our lawns
Then went to a friends place and mowed his, plus raked leaves, sawed PVC pipes and helped drill holes in concrete.

Finished around 6pm and quite tired. However I still had 80 Push ups to do. So I did them in a set of 40 then a set of 20 and then 2 sets of 10 to make the total for the day 100.

The 40 was a struggle towards the end but I added in 2 x 10 sets of situps as well to give the chest a rest.

One thing I noticed today was keeping up my fluids and eating good fats sustained my energy over the whole plus a really good sleep of 10 hours!

Go well with your nutrition and exercise and rest.
Blessings
Grant 

100 Push ups plus extra workout at farm

Today I slept into 7am which was a good thing as I needed the rest after a huge week that involved 3 round trips to Auckland, getting hit of my bicycle by a van and completing my push up quota for the week plus extra push ups and taking 16 young people for a mini boot camp training session.

We travelled over to Sal's parents and Sal's Dad asked me to help put in a couple of poles for a new fence by the new barn. I said for every pole I tamper in (use a metal rod with a piece on the end to pack the dirt in) I will do 20 Push ups.

So 5 poles later 100 push ups were completed. He also dug the holes so Dick got a good work out.

Also fed hay to cows carrying the bale over to the paddock and moved the electric fence.

Finished off with grinding a spade to be polished up and oiled.

Here are a few pics from todays efforts! Samuel loves to get involve when I do push ups inside!

Also I have bought 4 bottles with tight metal lids for our Kombucha Tea.

Dick digging the hole, good exercise!

Tampering the dirt in to make pole solid in the ground!

20 Push ups per pole going in the ground!

Samuel trying to assist Daddy with push ups!

Body is still okay 170 Push ups complete

Body is okay from bike accident, probably be a bit sore tomorrow but still was able to pump out my 100 push ups in 4 sets of 20 and 2 sets of 10 over the period of the day. Tonight I did a set of 15 and then a set of 35 Push ups followed by 20 on my knees. Happy with that.

Rock on Boot Camp Snap shot tomorrow with the recruits!

Blessings
Grant

Guardian Angel and Bike accident!

This morning I was biking along and came to a round about where I saw a white van slowing up so I thought sweet I will carry on. However she hadn't seen me (I was wearing my bright blue World Cup jacket and had my front light on flicker, 1st time for that to) We both broke hard and then it went into Matrix land and I rode up the side of the drivers door hitting the wing mirror and landing on the ground.

The bike was okay amazingly and I didn't seen to have any major injuries. I was more worried that my bike was stuff! But it wasn't. The poor driver was so remorseful and I just said I'm okay.

I carried on to work and starting setting up with the adrenaline still pumping, I felt no pain. About 9am the shock started to set in but I had a cup of tea and came right. Have taken it easy this morning.

10 hours sleep and planning lunch!

I have a really good sleep last night from 7.30pm to 5.30am. Feeling much better and pretty much over this cold which has slowed me down but not taking me out, thank goodness!

I was wondering about my lunch time period today with having an appointment to go to and I thought I'll just get Hot chips and the I realised my other challenge no incidental spending! So I thought right! I will have to plan better to have something before the appointment to get me through and also conserve energy to.

Aiming for over 100 Push ups today.

Go well with your Health and Well Being!

300 Push UPS!!!! Yehaaa!

Today I put the body under pressure to see if I had past through the worst of the cold and I had!

I started with 100 push ups before the other instructors arrived at the Domain this morning for Boot Camp.
I did a set of 20, 20, 10, then 20, 10,10,10

The others were late so it is custom that we do push ups together. I pumped out another 60. Arms were getting tired at this stage.

Later in the session I did 20 slow push ups in cadence of 3 seconds down 1 second up.

Then I did 40 push ups on my knees and then a following set later did 70 push up on my knees.

Did 10 more with the children at work.

Total 300 Push ups!!!

In between doing the push ups I did sets of Squat Jumps totalling 100

Chin ups 50 in one go.

Nutrition

Porridge sultanas and yoghurt for Breakfast 4.30am
After Boot Camp at 7.20am

750ml water with lemon
2 carrots raw
1 banana

Arrived at work
2 boiled eggs
1 banana

Morning tea
Scone and Sultanas
Orange

Lunch time
Scone and sultanas
Brown rice and beef stir fry

100 Club and Healthy Food

Home made Pizza with silver beet and eggs, Yummo! Well done Sally with creative flair!

 

Kombucha Tea made up. You can see the mother in the big jar which converst the tea and sugar into a fizzy vinegar flavour. Very refreshing served cold!

I worked on my 100 Push ups today with 40 this morning in 2 sets of 20 then 50 at training with sports group and then 10 extra at home to make up the 100.

Still overcoming cold but that hasn't hampered me to much.
This afternoon at Sports group training we did

Basketball jump squat, Lunges and squat hold for 30 secs
Dying fly set of 10 Sit ups 10 and V hold 30 seconds
Push up clap x 10 superman x10 and push up hold 30 seconds

Push ups x2 every time a ball was dropped when I passed it in between talking to the group, they had to do 2 push ups.

Finished with Back to back wrestling to find a champion
Warm down stretches


I have eaten the following today:

Porridge sultanas and yoghurt
Oil Pulling 20 minutes with Sunflower oil.
2 carrots medium
Sultanas
Chicken Liver Pate and Crackers
1.5 litres of water with lemon in it
2 cups of Green tea.
Home made Pizza with Spinach and egg on it for lunch
Pizza again for afternoon tea same as lunch
1 apple and some persimmon
Home for Kombucha tea 2 glasses
Dinner Stir fry beef and vege with brown rice
Dessert Yogurt and nuts


No incidental spending so far which is going well. Have extra major expenses coming up with Dental, Mole checking and Car with transmission fluid needing changed. So saving this money is helping towards those expenses!

I biked to work and home again today.
Go well with your exercise and eating.

Healthy Food and Water for the day plus 150 push ups!

This morning was a wet one but i went planned with dry clothes and a good bag full of goodies!
Had Porridge at 4.30am
Today I packed for lunch and morning tea:

Chicken Liver Pate with Rice Crackers
Banana
2 carrots peeled (ate after boot camp)
Banana muffin
4 Fejoia's
2.23 litres of water with lemon in it
Sultanas
Pumpkin Soup for lunch
2 eggs for Breakfast 2nd at 9.00am

Exercise wise: Did 150 push ups at Boot Camp alongside other exercises while I was instructing

Started at 5.40 am with:

Set of 60
Set of 20
Set of 30
Set of 35
Set of 5

150 for the day!

Day 9 Money Challenge & 100 PUP Club Day 3

Onto Day nine for my challenge of know incidentals expenses. I was tempted yesterday on the way back from Ngatea with wanting to get some Hot Chips. I thought it is only $2 but decided no! Can't do it and had one of Sally's banana muffins which did the trick!

100 Club Day 2 was yesterday (Saturday). Interesting I cam down with a sore throat Saturday morning after my run and I thought oh know here we go! However I was determined not to let this cold take over so I hammered it with natural remedies, loads of liquid, salt gargle, Vit C and had a good sleep Sat Night. Come Sunday after a nine hour sleep I felt much better and then the sneezing started. Still I wasn't fazed and geared myself up for full recovery.
This morning I woke earlier than normal and feel a little bit sneezy but that is not going to hold me back today. I'm going to wrap up keep warm and have lots of herbal drinks.

I still managed to pump out 100 Press ups in 5 sets of 20 doing the last 3 sets within 15 minutes of each other.

Day 3 of the Press Up (There is Romelo, Javis and (Theresa doing sit ups) doing the challenge with me.

I will count  the press ups I do at Boot Camp as well which is today.

Anyway keep well and look after yourself.
Have a great week!
Grant

100 Club Press ups

Good training session this morning.

Ran up Pukekohe Hill 1.4km up steep gradient approx 10 minutes and then 30 press ups at the top.
Ran down in around 6 mins

At home 30 press ups rested 10 minutes then managed one more set at 50

110 press ups.

I want to build up to being able to do 100 press ups with Cadence of 1 second

Anyone want to join my 100 Club for 30 days. The goal is to do 100 press ups a day in sets of 10' or 20' or 30' with the end goal being able to do 100 Press ups in one go to Cadence with 1 second intervals. You up for it?

Day 6 Saving Money Challenge

So far no extra money spent this week, so happy with that! Yesterday I ended up biking to work home again for lunch and then back again on the bike and then home again at 4.30pm! Glad I have my World Cup jacket to keep me warm on the bike, plus it is easy to see with the colour.

I wanted to go for a run and do press ups as well but ran out of time having to get some milk (40 litres from a farm).

Sally made yoghurt from it which I am looking forward to trying.

Oil Pulling is still going strong every morning and I found out through Sally that Sunflower oil is the best to use for this particular ritual! So first thing in the morning I pop the oil in while I sit on the computer typing emails etc and do at least 15 minutes of swishing. I have got use to it now.

One thing I have noticed this week is Sally and Samuel were sick with colds and I didn't get it which is a first! But I said to Sally that I think it is combination of me looking after myself much better with the following,

Good Sleep
Oil Pulling
Cod Liver oil
Vitamin C
Kombucha Tea (Liver Detoxifying drink)
Raw Milk
Good eating no refined sugars
Drinking loads of water and a little lemon juice
Exercising
Keeping warm in the cold!


Have a great day!

Blessings
Grant

Day 30 No refined Sugar Challenge

Day 30 has arrived!!! No refined sugar for 30 days has been a success! I am feeling the better than ever and sharp in my thinking and loads of energy by eating good foods! All the best if you are taking up this challenge! Roseanne Elizabeth Emery, you are doing so well to cut the coke out and the cafferine after 10 days! Keep going!

Grant

Day 5 new challenge plus fitness

After 4 days on my new challenge I have found that it is so easy to spend or even use the car for a short trip back to work etc but I have resisted and managed to cut down in every area!

Showers have been shorten in length and I don't worry about smelling, my wife would be first to comment on that!

I have been biking back to work after lunch if I have had the car after being to Auckland for Boot Camp training.

I have been blessed by the owner of the Boot Camp who is helping me with travel expenses so I can continue being an assistant Boot Camp Instructor which I am loving!

The other morning when it was freezing I still decided to run to Church which took 11 mins and then do my exercises and extra run with buddy, ran to work, set up everything, ran home approx 3km and then biked back!

Getting fitter and weighing in lighter, approx 74.5kg at the moment. 6 months ago I was tipping the scales close to 80kg!

So it is working and I have made an awesome contact with a truck company, washing their trucks to be able to make a few more dollars to help the cause!

It can be done, go out and conquer your 30 day challenge!

Blessings
G

New 30 day Challenge is Out

My next 30 day challenge is going to be reducing spending habits especially on incidentals like a packet of crisps at the supermarket because I haven't planned eating before hand.

So to do this I need to be even more focused on my eating and planning of it.

Other areas I can cut down on is driving the car (Cost of petrol is astronomical $2.20 a litre), meaning I will have to bike more to work and other places (this is extra fitness :)

I will also cut down time spent in shower, (normally use the shower to relax and have think time, but now that will have to be somewhere else!)

Buying smart (i.e getting vegetable on special at the markets vs supermarket buying)

Keeping a transparent Eftpos transaction and cash transaction so that Sally can keep good records on our current spending excel sheet.

Eating more things like carrot sticks rather than hoeing into the cheese all the time because of hunger!

That's is for now but it will sure be an interesting challenge that will affect my health and well being on many fronts.

Go make your 30 day challenge what ever that may be!

Day 27 Challenge Still strong!

Wow I'm nearly there and I'm feeling great about my body my mind and my energy and my rest! Last night I slept soundly for 8 hours and woke up this morning feeling like yesterdays energy output never happened! I started yesterday at 4am to prepare for a Men's breakfast at church which we catered for approx 140!

Straight after I got home I was in the Ute with the father n law heading to Swanson to sort out a fallen tree at our rental property. Had a good lunch of rice and dhal + leftovers Pasta with Mussels and pumpkin and herbs that Sally had made.

Got home and pack the wood away and then went super market shopping with Samuel my son and then helped Sally with dinner with was yummy snapper and roast veges. We lit the fire and sat down on the couch to watch a video and I nodded off a bit but I didn't mind as I was really knackered. In bed around 10 and up around 6am!

Oil Pulling still going well!
Planning a hill run today up Pukekohe Hill and then off to hear Dr Grant Mullen from Canada at Church talk on emotional disorders :)

Day 24 Challenge dropped 3kg!

Well I'm nearly there with only 6 days to go on my challenge. What a journey it has been. I weighed myself this morning and was pleasantly surprised to be tipping the scales at 75 kg! I started around 78 kg 3 weeks ago and one of the goals was to lose 3kgs! Tick that one off! Good eating + exercise + good rest = Slashing the tummy fat and fitting my old dress pants that I couldn't wear for 2 years!

The no wheat and Gluten is going well however at this stage I planning to reduce it as much as possible but not worry if I have the odd food item with wheat in it. So far without trying really hard I have managed to have hardly any wheat and gluten over 7 days, I feel better for it and my skin has cleared up majorly!

So where to from here? My next 30 day challenge that I am going to start up is in the area of saving finances, more on that in 6 days times.

Go well and be healthy, AMEN!

Diet and Challenge Changed my Life!

What has been different in my diet that has made a huge difference is good fats. Below is a description of what I believe is really making a difference right now to my well being. I am loving this 30 day challenge of no refined sugar as it has unleashed a healthy me that I like especially the fact I am stable in thoughts and actions!

Chicken Liver Pate (homemade from Sally with no preservatives) Bacon and eggs (free range eggs from Sally's Dad, plus homemade Bacon no nitrates and salt cured by Sally) Nuts soaked in water and dehydrated, Oily fish and cod liver oil taken every day.
We are following Western A Price Theory which Sally Fallon has carried on his work with a book called nourishing traditions. Basically it is eating a similar diet to the 1930's.

We are also getting raw milk straight from the farmer rather than bought milk at the supermarket.

All these put together and no refined sugar have made an incredible difference to my state of mind, my decision making has been 100% better, I have had heaps of energy and I don't have any highs or lows, my skin has cleared, and with the exercise I've been doing with boot camp (Training to be a trainer) I am feeling the best I have ever been in my life.

My Sally is reading a book on Oil Pulling an old age tradition that focuses on the huge amount of bacteria in the mouth. Interesting enough our mouths harbour the most bacteria than any other place in the body and thus account for most of the issues we have in our bodies. Oil Pulling is not new but not something people like to do. It basically gets into every single area of the gums and mouth and draws the bacteria out with 15 minutes of swishing in your mouth (1 dessertspoon is  good). I also use Olive oil and then after 15 minutes, spit it out. This can also help with receding gums which I have, so I be watching in interest how that goes. You are meant to do this before you eat in the morning and if you are hard core you can do it 3 times a day before major meals.

Anyway life is fantastic with these new diet changes for me and I now know that eating right makes me the best husband, father and coworker that I can be. Amen!

Day 21 of Challenge and Recovery

Today is day 21 and I am very happy with how I am going with this challenge. My hardest temptation was yesterday going to my inlaws where I have bad food and drink habits there from the past! However I planned my attack before leaving by having eggs and fried potatos so that I wouldn't be starving by the time I arrive to have lunch. I ended up eating Sally's roast chicken nibblets and rice salad with tomato cheese and salad and water and lemon for a drink. I stayed awayed from the yummy looking cake that my sister n law made but instead had yoghurt walnuts, banana and raisins!

I need to get onto a good website fedup.com that my friend Lisa put me onto for some recipe ideas for No gluten and wheat. Changing the mindset is not the easiest especially when you have eaten bread most days for 36 years!

My legs are 90% back to normal after Saturdays Mammoth effort on 400 squats. We have a snapshot test today at the Domain to see what everyone's fitness levels are like. I think it is a 2.4km run which I am looking forward to.

Go well with your eating and exercising.
Blessings
Grant

400 squats in one go

Today was a full on day exercise wise. It started with an impromptu 7km run with a friend at Hebron 1550 in Waterview. This was followed by 30 minutes of basketbal 2 hours later. Then we had lunch and started Texem hold em push up poker.

The 4 of us were betting push ups instead of money.

After a few rounds of 30 push ups here and there I decided that I had a good hand and kept bidding higher with Romelo up to 200! I lost! The rule it is 1 press up to 2 other exercises, so I decided to start with Squats and aimed for 100. I got to 150 and I was hurting!!!

By the time I hit 200 Jackson and Romelo were tired from the counting!
I decided to aim for the entire 400 which I did without stopping! I had 2 fried eggs straight after which helped replace the enery and protein to fix my muscles.

Over other rounds I ended up doing 167 push ups in different number sets.

A good day. Hopefully I will still be able to walk tomorrow and drum at church!

Snap Shot Test 11th May 2012!

Test is to run as fast as you can for 2.4km and then do up to 100 Pressups and situps to Cadence. I did it by myself and thought I could have done better if I had others around but needed to do it in Pukekohe as I am heading to Auckland tonight for the Rugby as a volunteer.

2.4km run time 8.51 minutes (shaved 26 seconds off from 2 weeks ago)
100 Press ups (30 full press ups breaked for 5 secs did 20 on kness and then broke for 5 secs doing sets of 10 through to 100)
100 Sit ups raising my hands to my knees and keeping them on my legs all the time. Did 5 sets of 20 with 5 sec gaps in between.)

Pretty wasted after that but recovered well. Went home and had Bacon and eggs (no toast)
Looking forward to the next 6 weeks of Boot Camp to see if I can improved my times and ability on the sit ups and press ups.

Snap Shot and Day 16 and 17

Day 16 and 17 went well and also having know gluten and wheat has made a big difference in 2 days to my skin. (I am challenging myself to 30 days no refined sugar/perservatives or Artificial flavours.)

Tomorrow I plan to do 2.4km run as fast as I can (goal sub 9minutes) and then do as many pressups up to 100 and then 100 situps. (I am aiming for 60 pressups)

Feeling great and staying focused and making stable decisions and not being easily offended.

Day 15 Half Way with Challenge

I'm officially halfway to my 30 day goal of No refined sugar/artificial flavours or perservatives.

This morning I ran up Pukekohe hill on Anzac ave. 10.30 minutes to get up and 6.10 minutes to come down (1.4km one way)

Legs and abs are a bit sore from yesterdays boot camp but still mobile. DOMS Delayed onset Muscle soreness.

Food and Water today:

5.00am Porridge/yoghurt/sultanas Water

7.20am Banana Water, Cod Liver oil

8.30 am Banana Water Sultanas and nuts

9.00am Cheese

10.40 am Cheese Water and 2 Coddled eggs (plunged into boiling water for 60 seconds) and nuts

12.30pm Rice Craker with Avacado and cheese

2.00pm Apple and banana pieces.

3.30pm Nuts and sultanas Water

4.40pm Workout Mini Boot camp with sports group

5.45pm Dinner Braised Lamb neck chops, carrots, spinach and mashed potato

7.40pm Yoghurt/honey and walnuts.

9.00pm 100ml fresh squeezed apple juice

9.30pm Bed

What/Where/When Fitness 4U

WHAT DO WE DO at F4U? 
We start at Franklin Baptist Church on Victoria Street West Pukekohe.

There are 2 sessions 5.30am and 6.15am (You must text to say you are coming)


We do a short/long run/jog/walk depending on your fitness level and then we do 11 exercises one after the other using our own body weight as resistance


Time taken all depends on the speedapprox 30 minutes


See you there!

Day 14 of Challenge plus no gluten!

Today was hard yakka, I went to bed late which meant waking up early was a bit of a stretch when Samuel piped up at 4am for a feed. I was also heading up to Auckland for Boot Camp which was working on core stomach muscles today, ouch!
Food and water taken for the day:

5.00am Porridge/yoghurt/sultanas. Water

6.00am  Boot Camp Auckland Domain core stomach muscle work out on the hill

7.00am 1 litre of water

7.50 Eggs and bacon NO toast (First time doing that!) Water

9.00 am Banana, sultanas, water

10.00am Sultanas and nuts.

10.50am Soup Vegetable made by Sally previous night.

12.15pm Lunch No bread! Vegetable Soup with stock and beetroot. Water

2.00pm Nuts, some banana and water

3.30pm Nuts and sultanas water

4.50pm Hot chips as a treat

5.45pm Braised lamb neck chops with steamed carrots sauteed spincah. A glass of water

7.00pm Yoghurt anf fruit of some sort.

ETA Bed 9.00pm

Day 13 Great day!

Today I kept on top of my eating and grazing and although I had a full on day I had great energy levels throughout the entire day. I am currently getting very good sleep with an average of 8 hours, before I was averaging 6 so it has made a real difference in my energy levels and also my eating habits.
I drove to Pakuranga tonight to trained with a bunch of guys playing Touch Rugby. The fitness was good and I loosen up the tightness in my calf from yesterdays 9km run. I juiced some apples to and had a nice glass fill of pure apple juice!

BOOT CAMP tomorrow morning 6am, look out he we come trainer in training!

Todays eating and drinking

7.30am  Water
8.30am Porridge/yoghurt/LSA (ground linseed Sunflower and Almond) and walnuts and sultanas

9.30am At Church. Had water 2 glasses worth

11.00 am some cheese

Clean the garage up

12.30 Salad and chicken sanwich plus water

2.30 pm Liver pate and rice crakers/ sultana's/ water

3.00pm Left for Pakuranga

3.30 Nuts and Sultanas and water

4.00 Touch Rugby

5.20 pm Water banana/ nuts Sultanas/ Chicken Liver Pate and rice crackers.
6.15 pm Homemade Vegetable and chiken soupo by Sally.

8.00pm Yoghurt and nuts and popcorn watching a movie.

Bed eta 9pm

Big Day! Day 12 Challenge

Today I started with an empty stomach and a glass of water. I ran 9.3 km in approx 42 minutes and then went to the markets in down town Pukekohe. Afterwards I attacked my job list which involved washing the ceiling in the bathroom, cleaning shower, floor, toilet as well. Quick lunch and then outside to spend 2 1/2 hours doing the lawns and edges. The edges take the longest as I'm using a spade. Good for an upper body workout though.
Calf muscles a wee bit sore and stiff but stretch throughout the day. Had friends over for dinner and watched the rugby and the league at the same time. Cheifs won and the Warriors won yeah!

Here's what I had to eat and drink today:

6.40am wake up, glass water

7.00am run 9.3km

8.20am Peanut Butter on toast plus feijoia juice (homemade by Sally)

8.50am 2 Fried eggs on toast  Water x2 with lemon

9.30am nuts and sultanas small handful

10.00 am Went to Markets

11.30 am Home, snack on cheese, nuts and sultanas, Water

11.40 am Did Bathroom

12.40pm Lunch: Fresh lettuce, carrot grated, fermented cabbage, a bit of vogels, Pure Apple Juice and Feijoa

1.00pm Lawns and edges 3 glasses of water

3.30pm Apple

6.00pm cheese snack

6.50pm Dinner: Roast Chicken and gravy, peas and corn, Pumpkin and Kumara, Potato.
Dessert Apple and Feijoa crumble without the refined sugar plus yoghurt

8.00pm Ready Salted Chips as a treat watching the sport on Sky

10.30pm Bed!

Smashed Boot Camp with Cardio Hill Running

Mission successful. Shuttle runs up and down the hill (250 metres) in between we did 70 pressups (on my kness I might add) and 50 squats. Then we did one big loop around the main road. I hada guy beating to the top of the shuttle runs but I would over take on the downhill each time then in the last run he stopped at the top and I kept going finishing the long run first. The main trainer was away sick so the other trainer said to my group that I would be helping out. This made me work out harder.

Day 10 Challenge going well!

My no refined sugar/artificial flavours/perservatives for 30 days is going very well.
I was tempted this morning by my favourite, Chocolate Brownie!!! Instead I went straight to the fridge to get my cheese and fruit! Solved the temptation issues straight away. Fail to plan you plan to fail!

Here's my food intake for the day.

5.45am Porridge, Yoghurt, sultanas
Water one glass

6.20am Exercise 5km run

8.20 am 2 fried eggs fried in ghee on toast
Cod liver oil one teaspoon

9.00am Nuts and raisins
Water

10.00am Sultanas
Water

10.30 am Cheese, 2 Fejoias, Water,
 Sultanas

12.20pm 2 Toasted sandwiches with Avacado and tomato and cheese
Water

2.15pm Apple, Water, Nuts

3.40pm, Water Sultanas,

5.30pm Cheese, Water,

5.50pm Dinner Smoked Fish with Gnochi and fresh basil stir fried red cabbage, Water

8.00pm Yoghurt nuts and Feijoia's for dessert

9.30pm Bed time ETA

Day 8 and 9 a success!

My challenge of no refined sugar/ perservatives/ artificial flavours over 30 days is nearly a 1/3 of the way there! I had a great day today with a good sleep the prior night from 9pm through to 6am. With a quick wake up call at 3.40am from Samuel for a bottle I managed to sleep in by accident however I must have needed it because I had a huge couple of days.

Energy level stayed the same throughout the day.

7.30am Porridge with sultanas and home made natural yoghurt
Water
Cod Liver oil

10.00 Cheese, Sultanas
apple, 2 slices of Bread and butter

11.00 Nuts, Sultanas, water and rice cracker
12.40 Lunch Tuna Pie, Chunky Vegetable bean soup (leftovers) Water, and apple crumble with no refined sugar in it

2.00pm Nuts and sultanas, cheese, water, some apple

4.20pm Nuts sultanas, water, dried apricots

5.40pm Tuna Pie large portion, beans, carrots and water for dinner

6.20pm Yoghurt and some nuts.
Water

Aiming to be in bed by 9.30 pm

Aspartame is Scary!!! (Coke Zero)

Check out this link below to the scary world of what our children and adults are eating today. Beware of what you eat. Read labels on foods you buy and know what you are putting into your body.
Having a whole foods diet that is not loaded with perservatives/artifiical flavours and colours is certainly one way to living healthier and longer.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrahc-KfBRo

Day 7 Challenge No refined Sugar

Had a very good day. After a full on one hour boot camp session in the Auckland Domain I had a banana and consumed a litre of water!

Got home to Pukeohe and cooked up Bacon and Eggs which satisfied my hunger for over 3 hours!

Stable energy throughout the whole day and still feeling great and consistent with what I am eating.

23 days to go!
Cheers
Grant

Auckland Domain Boot Camp is the Best!

Biggest Challenge yet! Went to Boot Camp up in the Auckland Domain and they split into three groups going on your 2.2 km run time. I joined in with the Alpha group (Advanced level) and I had spent 10 minutes prior with the Head trainer for that group just chatting about how I am training to be a trainer.

Then the work started, here's a sneak preview to what we did:

We warm up with pressups, jogging on the spot, star jumps
Ran down to Mean Hill (bottom of Stanley street still in the Auckland Domain.
Last man to the front sprinting
Squat hold whilst waiting
Burpee with a Lunge Repetitions (Reps) 20
Standing Jack Jump forwards (Reps) 20
Walking lunge (Reps) 20
First to 20 saves the group to next exercise.

Run to the top and down again
 
Burpee with a Lunge Repetitions (Reps) 30
Standing Jack Jump forwards (Reps) 30
Walking lunge (Reps) 30First to 30 saves the group to next exercise.

Run to the top and down again

Burpee with a Lunge Repetitions (Reps) 40

Standing Jack Jump forwards (Reps) 40
Walking lunge (Reps) 40First to 40 saves the group to next exercise.

Run to the top and down again

Mountain climbs for 30 seconds
Knee downs with hands of head for 30 seconds
Jumping jacks 30 seconds

x 2 of these then up the hill with

Burpee with a Lunge Repetitions (Reps) 20

Standing Jack Jump forwards (Reps) 20
Walking lunge (Reps) 20

Had to do your 20 that time.
To the top of the hill (approx 250m)
and down

Last set of
Mountain climbs for 30 seconds
Knee downs with hands of head for 30 seconds
Jumping jacks 30 seconds

Then instructor sent off the slowest and the last  group of us around 6 had to race to the top to get to the front runner. I managed to get to the front runner and then push all the way to the end collasping in a heap at the top.

Great work out!!! 1 hour with about 3 minutes of complete rest!

DAY 5-6 of Challenge No refined Sugar!

Success so far. Day 6 was the toughest with me only surviving on nuts and raisins and one apple for over 6 hours as I was at church drumming for 2 services. After a massive lunch and a sleep and some water I came right.
I am finding that if I eat every 2-3 hours then I am feeling on top of my game. If I leave it longer I get huge sugar cravings!!!

All good though, 24 days to go and still feeling awesome, good stable energy!

Eat well everybody!

ARMY VS NAVY exercise

Today my mate Daniel took me through my paces Army style! The Challenge, to run 2.4km is fast as possible then do 50 press ups. Then do 100 Sit Ups!

I managed 9 minutes 17 seconds which was much quicker than my Navy time back in the day. Then I pumped out 50 Press ups and then started on the 100 Sit Ups. I got to 60 and I was maxed out! All good though as that leaves room for improvement.

Thanks Dan for pushing me today. Tomorrow is Boot Camp in Auckland, I am training to be a Trainer. Hopefully my muscles are all good from today.

Day 3-4 going well with Challenge: No refined Sugars

Day 3 was good, very long day with music practice at church last night but did well with water intake and food to combat this.

Day 4
Wake up 5am Water

Picked up Milk from farm 20 litres raw cows milk
Breakfast Porridge, natural non sweetend yoghurt, sultanas
Cod Liver Oil 5 mls
Vitamin C
Water

At Work  Morning
Sultanas
Morning tea: Left over vegetable and bean soup made by Sally previous night, Feijoa's 3 Chicken liver pate and crackers
Drinking Water

Lunch: Left over Pork stirfry and rice (fist and half portion size) from previous 2 nights ago at dinner time.
Sultanas
Water

Ran home from work

Afternoon tea
Cheese and crackers and Chicken Liver Pate. Water
Bought Potato Crisps as a treat (no refined sugar though, all the flavoured ones have sugar in them) at 5pm

Dinner:
Left over Vegetable and bean Soup. Water

Had shower and laid down on couch for a rest! Woke at 10pm. Had glass of water and went to bed.
Another successful day of no refined sugars, perservatives or artificial flavours and still stable in energy with no dipping in energy.

Aiming to add in a little raw honey for sweetner over coming days if we can buy some from some where. Also nuts to which Sally has helped me to soak and dehydrate beacuase nuts by themselves without soaking have enzyme prohibitors that cause the nutrients not to be absorbed in the body properly. We need to research the nuts thing more but soaking them and drying out again is a good thing for your body!

Off to Bed!
10.30pm

DAY 2 NO REFINED SUGAR

Day 2 of the challenge has gone well and it has been interesting with a couple of times where I have looked at or thought about foods with refined sugars! Below is my Friend Dan and I having a workout with the ole wood today. Also a diary entry of todays food vs exercise and activity.

Current weight is 77kg My aim is to loose 3kg in 30 days. Ideal weight for me is around 74kg I think?!

5.00am 2 Fried eggs with 2 pieces of toast with butter salt and pepper


9.30 am Sat down and ate: Streaky bacon fried, 2 fried eggs, 1 grilled tomato, 2 pieces of toast, 1 pancake and honey, water to drink.

10.30 am Went and played drums at church for a practice for one hour.

11.40 am Was hungry and tempted for refined sugar.  I found some yoghurt and Banana's in the car while out!

1.20 pm Sandwich with Chicken Liver Pate, fermented red cabbage, gherkin and lettuceand cheese plus 2 glasses of water.

1.40 pm Started work on chopping wood with Dan who came over to help. Took an 1 hour to chop the wood and the 30 minutes to stack away. Another glass of water.

4.00 pm Apple plus another 2 glasses of water with lemon in it.

5.00 pm Chicken Liver pate and crackers and cheese snack. Glass of water and lemon

5.40 pm Pork and vegetable stir fry with basmati rice Glass of water and lemon

7.30 pm Apple glass of water and lemon

9.00 pm Bed time!

FEELING GOOD!

Which one am I cutting again?

Right O, smash emm!

Oh what a great feeling splitting logs!

Huge effort by Dan the man!

Happy with that!!

NOURISHING TRADITIONS WHATS GOOD TO EAT?

I am enjoying a new look to our main diet and having food that has real sustenance as well as health benefits.
http://www.westonaprice.org/

This is from the website that gives a small overview what it is all about


The Weston A. Price Foundation is a nonprofit, tax-exempt charity founded in 1999 to disseminate the research of nutrition pioneer Dr. Weston Price, whose studies of isolated nonindustrialized peoples established the parameters of human health and determined the optimum characteristics of human diets. Dr. Price's research demonstrated that humans achieve perfect physical form and perfect health generation after generation only when they consume nutrient-dense whole foods and the vital fat-soluble activators found exclusively in animal fats.
The Foundation is dedicated to restoring nutrient-dense foods to the human diet through education, research and activism. It supports a number of movements that contribute to this objective including accurate nutrition instruction, organic and bio dynamic farming, pasture-feeding of livestock, community-supported farms, honest and informative labeling, prepared parenting and nurturing therapies. Specific goals include establishment of universal access to clean, certified raw milk and a ban on the use of soy formula for infants.

CHICKEN PATE ROCKS!

Samuel our son enjoying Chicken Liver Pate with his Dad!

That is Ghee (Clarified Butter) on top of the Chicken Liver Pate that preserves it.

Sally made Chicken Liver Pate last night and it was Yummo, especially on a cracker for Samuel!! Samuel chowed it down like it was going out of business. Sally mentioned this was a great way to eat liver rather than having it fried up with onions, eact to their own I say.

IS SUGAR TOXIC?

Is Sugar TOXIC? 60 minutes looks at studies done recntly. Your thoughts? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cREfDcEvY4

Man o Man, I have learnt some stuff about this so called yummy sweet stuff that I have taken for granted over all these years. Even if you are sporty or very active it is still not good to be putting loads of refined sugar into your body! I'm glad I am taking up a 30 day challenge to cut out refined sugars. Lets see how I feel after it!

Chicken Broth x3!!!

Hi there,

I was intrigued by the amazing smells wafting out of the Kitchen when I arrived home tonight! Yummo!

I entered the kitchen to be pleasantly surprised with healthy nutritous lovely smelling delights coming from the stove. I asked Sally to share what she had been up to for the day. She was very busy lady!

She made Chicken stock reduced down to a bullion (intense flavour) and also made 2 lots of chicken broth which we had some for an entree at dinner time. She had also made Chicken Kashmiri butter chicken in the slow cooker. This was scrumptous!

I was impressed that Sally had livers soaking in milk to make Chicken liver Pate tomorrow.

But wait there's more: Hot off the press, Sally is trying her hand at Nitrate free bacon by curing the pork with a salt cure, (Salt 2 cups, 1 1/2 Brown sugar, 12 Juniper Berries crushed, cracked pepper, 1 tsp smoked paprika) Repeat over 3 days once a day and then slice and use or freeze. Looking forward to that!

I am going to do a 30 DAY CHALLENGE for me

No refined sugar at all. this does not include things like natural fruits etc.
I will see how I feel. Carbonated drinks and chocolate are my biggest temptations!
Keep me honest everyone!

Cheap as using chicken bones from supermarket to make broth, super healthy!

Chicken Stock reduced down to make Chicken Bullion.

Pork being cure over 3 days into bacon less the Nitrates!

TUES 24th Next Session

I ran 5 km today at full pace out at Waiau Pa Fun Run. The course was actually 200 m shortr than 5 km. My goal for the 5km today was under 20 minutes. I ran 19.38 minutes but with the added 200 m I would have probably done 20.10. Thats all good as I haven't done much training and to run nearly sub 4 minute km for 5 km which is cantering along quite nicely.

Hope to see you all on Tuesday either at 5.30am or 6.15am at Counties Inn Paerata Rd Pukekohe.

Blessings
Grant

Trampoline compressing fun!

Today I started with clearing the shrubs, tree branches and weeds etc from my rental property. I was pleasantly surprised when I arrived and half of it was already in the skip. My tenant had taken the initiative to start it the night before as she knew we were on a tight schedule with only 24 hours to do the job. I could of had the skip for 3 days but I thought if we can nail the job in one day then that would be great.
I was thankful to my friends Rohan and Romelo who helped out and got a good work out.

A couple of times we had to get into the skip and bounce up and down to get the branches to pack down. In the end we had about 1700kg in the 9 cubic metre skip with 5 hours of 4 people having a go at it!

Rohan and Romelo were hanging out to have a go with the chainsaw and it was Rohan's first time. Rohan loved it and probably would have cut everything down if I had let him, haha.

Thanks guys for an awesome productive day with Cross fit fitness added to the mix!

Ready steady, JUMP!

This looks like back breaking material!! No trees were hurt in the making of this Skip!

Romelo working hard to clear all the debris

Way to go Rohan! I thought your colour co-ordination was spot on with the visor and your t-shirt!!

Just like slicing through butter aye Romelo, you make it look easy!

Romelo loving the chainsaw action

Rohan and Romelo, Romelo still looks fresh, back to work! haha

Grant and Rohan taking a well earned rest!

1700kg plus the weight of the Skip!!!

A lot to clear!

Previous Week!

After clearing the fenceline and removing the basketball hoop at the end carport on the driveway, much neater!!