Thurs March 17th

St. Paddy's day. Didn't get drunk though, just a couple pints after rugby training. Spent the entire day before rugby doing homework. For some reason I tend to have assignments due or an exam the day after St. Paddy's; this year is no exception with a short nutrition assignment due. Just analyzing a study on the impact of a caffeine and 6% carbohydrate solution (think putting caffeine into Gatorade, not a red bull which has way too much sugar). According to the study, the group that got caffeine and carb mixture had much better endurance than a control group that received only the carb drink over a ninety minute soccer simulated training session. Might read a bit more into this kind of research and see if its worth trying. Anyways, the rugby session went well. Really starting to get my quickness and sprinting speed back and getting back used to reading situations. My fitness level is already starting to get much better also. Here is what I ate today:

8:30am Muesli with soy milk
10:30am 2 eggs, spicy genoa ham, spinach, tomato, cheddar on whole wheat
1pm Whole wheat spaghettini, tomato, spinach, walnuts, basil pesto
3pm Whey protein, peanut butter, natural honey, soy milk
5pm Beef and Guiness stew
9:30pm Steak and mushroom pie, mashed potatoes and gravy, beer (Cheat meal)

The beef and guiness stew was homemade, big chunks of beef, carrots, potatoes, peas cooked in a rue of spelt flour and guiness. It was pretty good but not the best stew I've made before. Made a big batch so I'll toss a couple servings into the freezer for quick meals. Had the pie and potatoes and beer after rugby in the clubhouse to celebrate the festive occasion. I was done my assignment by then so I could have had more drinks but just didn't really feel like it. That's all for now I guess.

Tues March 15

Woke up early and got to the pool. I am not a swimmer in any sense of the word. I can swim, I'm just not efficient at all. That being said I was focusing on a few aspects of technique; unfortunately I don't have a swim cap yet so I couldn't keep my face straight down so I'm going to buy one asap. Due to my lack of good technique I am not very good at pacing myself. It was a good workout though; swam for about thirty minutes, consisting mostly of about 2-3 lengths followed by either a short rest or switching to the breast stroke for a few to catch my breath. Spent the rest of the day in class or working on an assignment. Here's what I ate:

9am - Protein shake, apple
10:30am - Muesli with milk
12:30pm - Turkey, cheddar, spinach, tomato, mustard on whole wheat; 2 clementines
3:30pm - Amy's Organic Vegetable Barley Soup, 2 slices whole wheat bread
6:30pm Whole wheat spaghettini, spinach, tomato, walnuts, pesto
10pm - Smoothie - Mixed berries, 2 bananas, soy milk, spinach, flax meal

Pretty normal day food wise. Not a very exciting day in general; just the swim and some homework today.

Mon March 14th

Had a good training session today. Lifted heavy but cut down on the number of sets because of it being a deload week. Body felt good. Squats are almost at my pre-surgery weight; that being said I never used to squat as much as I should have. My modified glute ham raises are getting very strong. Also been getting some definition on my abs. This is just a bonus as it was never really a goal... It also goes to show you that you don't need to do 100s of crunches or sit ups. The only time I ever do them is at rugby training because the team is doing them. I just focus more on things like planks and rollouts and avoid spinal flexion exercises. I do need to start working on my cardio a bit more though. I did ten minutes of intervals on the treadmill at the end of my workout and although not terrible I need to put some extra cardio work in. Here's what I ate today:

7:30am muesli with soy milk
10:30am Protein shake, apple, vitamins (multi,b,c,fish oil)
11:30am Turkey, spinach, tomato, mustard on whole wheat
3pm - Smoothie - mixed berries, 2 bananas, soy milk, flax meal, spinach, olive oil
7pm - Gnocchi, bacon, onion, mushrooms, olive oil, lemon juice, sage
10:30pm - almonds, peanuts, cashews, pecans, raisins, dates; fish oil capsule

Happy with my diet today, my dinner was really good. Bought some stewing beef and other stuff at the grocery store today so I think I'm going to make a beef and guiness stew for St. Patrick's day this thursday, and make enough to freeze for future meals. I'll post the recipe I come up with. Never made one before but I've had enough to know the ingredients; so I'll just figure it out from there (who needs recipes when you can experiment). I've decided to go swimming tomorrow morning to get that cardio work in while not beating the body up too much, hopefully I can do this once or twice a week until the end of school. Off to bed so I can get up and get to the pool.

Sun March 13th

Another day of mostly school work. Did some reading on Lionel Conacher for an assignment. He was one badass dude. First off his nickname was The Big Train. In one day he scored 15 points for the winning Toronto Argonauts in the Grey Cup final then rushed across town to help win a hockey game. Another day he hit the winning double in a baseball game then went across town to help his lacrosse team that was down 2-1; he scored two goals and they won (What did you do today?). He was a national light heavyweight boxing champ, won a couple Stanley cups, and was named Canada's Outstanding Athlete of the Half-Century. Oh he then went on to become a member of provincial parliament for Toronto. Like I said... badass. Makes me feel like I waste a lot of time. Anyway here is what I ate today:

9:30am Muesli with soy milk
12:30pm Bacon, egg, spinach, tomato on whole wheat; vitamins (multi,b,c,fish oil)
4pm Smoothie - Banana, soy milk, whey protein, peanut butter, natural honey, oatmeal
8pm Salmon, baked potato, asparagus, broccoli, mushrooms
10:30pm Smoothie - Mixed berries, 2 bananas, soy milk, flax meal, spinach; fish oil capsule

Ate pretty well today; slept in a bit though because of the time change and a late night out last night. Got in a fair amount of fruits and veggies today though which makes me happy and healthy. Gonna go plan out my workout for tomorrow and get stuff packed up.

Sat March 12th

Hit the gym today; I love my school gym on the weekends when everyone is too hungover and busy recovering to get to the gym. Never have to wait for anything. Nice easy workout to start my deload week and finished off with some sport specific medicine ball passes off a wall. Other than that I relaxed a bit, did some school work, and watched the Canadian University Seven's Rugby Championships online. Saw UBC take down Mac for third place then UVic beat Western in the final. Neither of the games were close; likely because the teams out east are coming to the end of their season while Mac and Western came together for this tournament. That being said UVic and UBC always have strong programs and have a few national players. Also went to the movies at night and saw Drive Angry 3D; it was surprisingly great. Over the top, cheesy action movie full of terrible one liners... all that in the greatest way possible. This is what I ate today:

9:30am Muesli with soy milk

11:30am Chocolate milk; vitamins (multi,b,c,fish oil)

2pm Cheddar cheese scrambled eggs, bacon on fresh baked roll

5pm Whole wheat rotini, spinach, capers, tomato, walnuts, olive oil, lemon juice

8:30pm Gnocchi, spinach, tomato sauce

11pm Almonds, peanuts, cashews, raisins, dates

12:30pm Fish oil capsule

Had the nuts and dried fruit at the movies (sneaky sneaky) instead of candy and crap. Another pretty good day of eating. Had the chocolate milk post workout. Should have had more fruits in my diet, especially since I've been fighting off a cold lately. Oh well, just another lesson for tomorrow.

Fri March 11th

Took a day off today from lifting and training. Much needed with how I've been feeling over the last few days. So I spent the day cleaning and doing chores. I have a bunch of assignments coming up and I hate working in a mess so got my room nice and organized. That's really all I did today, went out for dinner later and just relaxed at night. Here's what I ate:

9am - muesli with soy milk
11am - 3 egg spinach and cheddar omelette on whole wheat; vitamins (multi,b,c,fish oil)
3:30pm - Smoothie - Mixed berries, 2 bananas, soy milk, soy protein, flax meal, spinach
7:30pm - Bacon poutine, chicken wings, beer (Cheat meal)

Didn't eat a whole lot throughout the day when I was cleaning just because I was sidetracked but ate a few pounds of wings later that night at Wild Wing. Have a workout planned for Saturday so I'm looking forward to that after a nice bit of rest today.

Thurs March 10th

Been feeling a little under the weather as of late but it will pass. Training makes everything alright though. Was a little sore from the deadlifts Wednesday but not too bad. Got to go to rugby training and once again the knee felt great. I was getting a little frustrated at times with people screwing up the basics but it happens; at least we are doing the right thing and working on them early before the season so everyone is on the same page when games come around. Felt good to do some positional work and get back into that frame of mind of controlling the play and directing the flow of the game. It's been a while since I've had to analyze situations on the field while playing so I'm a little rusty and found myself putting my head down instead of reading the defence at times, but not too bad. Here is what I ate:

8am - Muesli with Soy milk
11:15am - Chocolate milk, apple; vitamins (multi,b,c,fish oil)
1pm Steamed veggies, tofu, rice
5pm - Spicy Genoa ham, mushrooms, onion, cheddar, whole wheat panini; vit.c
9:30pm - Protein shake, apple, banana
12am - Whole wheat rotini, garlic, spinach, capers, tomato, olive oil, lemon juice; vit. c

The panini I made was really good, I had a craving for one and thats what I came up with based on what I had in my fridge. Worked out well. Stepped up the vitamin c intake to help try to fight off this cold. Nose has been running like crazy and is generally gross. Gonna take Friday off to recover and hopefully get over the cold then back at it on saturday to start a deload week that is much needed.

Wed March 9th

Deadlift day today. I'm happy with how the workout went overall. Felt good to move some heavy weight. Also got some things checked off the to do list. Still a long list though, with lots of assignments coming up soon so I'm going to have to make good use of my free time. Also had some classes today but not a whole lot else going on with me today. Here's what I ate:

7:30am - Muesli with soy milk
10:30am - Protein shake, apple, vitamins (multi,b,fish oil)
11:30am Turkey, cheddar, spinach, tomato, mustard on whole wheat
2:30pm 2 poached eggs, salsa, cheddar, onion, green and yellow peppers on whole wheat
6pm Salmon, sweet potatoes, asparagus, broccoli
10pm almonds, cashews, pecans, peanuts, dates, raisins; fish oil capsule

Came up with the poached egg dish today and it was pretty damn good. I cooked the peppers and onion with smoked chili powder, cumin, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. It ended up like some kind of Mexican eggs benny. Gonna make that one again for breakfast for sure, maybe even get some spicy sausage and mix that up with the peppers and onions. That's all the noteworthy stuff for today so off to bed.

Tues March 8th

Gotten pretty busy lately with assignments and the like but got some marks back today. Got an A+ on a presentation on ACL injury prevention (love the irony of that one) and a B+ on a research summary for a paper I'm doing on concussions in minor hockey. I've been kicking ass this semester so all my hard work is paying off. Had a hands on class for assessment and treatment of the cervical spine which was really cool. My hard work in the gym is also paying off, I'm getting stronger all the time. I have been pretty tired lately so after tomorrows workout it is the start of another deload week which is much needed. Nutrition has been pretty good also. My program had a pancake breakfast today but I resisted temptation and just had some fruit. Speaking of food, here is what I had today:

7am Muesli with soy milk
9am Apples; vitamins (multi, b, fish oil)
12pm Whole wheat penne, asparagus, brocolli, shrimp, tomato sauce
4pm Chicken roti
10pm Smoothie - Mixed berries, 2 bananas, soy protein, soy milk, flax meal, spinach
11pm Fish oil capsule

Well it is getting late and I have an early date with some deadlifts tomorrow so off to my bed.

Fri March 4th

I surprisingly wasn't very sore today after rugby training last night. My legs were actually completely fine, my upper back and traps are a little sore but that is more likely from the shrugs earlier in the day. I had my last clinic shift of the school year today. It was a good year and I learned a lot. Way more than I did at my placement last year. I also made a good impression on the head therapist and all the coaches and athletes I worked with. The head therapist is a great reference to have and is someone I will try to keep in contact with in the future; who knows what kinds of jobs will come up. Also got an email about possibly working a spring football training camp. I emailed back so hopefully I get the chance to work it. Here's what I ate today:

6:30am Muesli with Soy milk
10am Spicy Genoa ham, egg, lettuce, tomato, cheddar on whole wheat; vitamins (multi,b, fish oil)
1pm Protein bar
6pm Grilled veggie, black bean, rice, lettuce, tomato, monterey jack, salsa, red onion, jalapeno, guacamole, whole wheat burrito
10pm Smoothie - 3 bananas, soy milk, whey protein, natural peanut butter, natural honey, oatmeal; fish oil capsule

I needed a nap after class and woke up without much time to make food so I just grabbed a protein bar. Other than that it was another good day of eating. I switched up my usual smoothie, and this one was very good. The chocolate protein powder tasted great with the banana and pb. I added the oatmeal to thicken it up a bit and a bit of texture. It worked out really well so I'll likely make this again. I don't have time to post that nutrition analysis assignment but I will as soon as possible.

Thurs Mar 3rd

Woke up early and hit the gym before class. My squat is getting much stronger and I'm back up to about 200lbs; still have a lot of work to do in order to get my squat back up to where it was pre-injury. More importantly my Glute Ham Raise is getting way stronger then before and my hamstrings are getting some good size back. This is a good thing as the hamstrings help protect the ACL. After my workout I did some cool low back assessment stuff and had my back/ posture analyzed. I do get low back pain from now and then when I stand for a long time so what was said wasn't much of a surprise. I have some things I'm going to do to correct it and hopefully that pain and stiffness will go away. At night I went down to my rugby club for the first pre-season training session. I'm definitely in much better shape then just about everyone there, but more importantly my knee felt great. Taped it up with a custom tape job and tossed a neoprene brace over top. I even did a little contact, not any tackling but running into a contact pad and going to the ground. I didn't notice my knee at all, fatigue or anything. My hands and timing were a little off but that will come back quickly so I'm not worried. Overall very happy with how I felt, and is a sign of how my training and hard work has paid off. Good nutrition is a big help with that so here is what I ate:

6:30am Muesli with soy milk
9am Apple, Banana, Vitamins (multi,b,c,fish oil)
11:30am Chocolate milk; Grilled veggie, lettuce, tomato, red onion, cheddar, cucumber, green peppers on whole wheat wrap
3:30pm Gnochii, chicken bacon, onion, olive oil, sage
5:45pm Smoothie - Mixed berries, 2 bananas, soy protein, soy milk, flax meal
9:30pm Chicken, cheddar, lettuce, tomato, mustard on whole wheat; apple
11:30pm Amy's Organic Vegetarian Chili; fish oil capsule

Good day of eating, the gnochii dish I made was really good. Would have been better with actual bacon but was still very good. Ended up staying up a little late to do an assignment but not too late as I already had most of it done. I'll talk about it on Friday's post; that's all until then.

Wed Mar 2nd

Today was a rest day so no workout, just a lot of homework, classes, and clinic. Got one assignment back that's worth 15% of my final mark and got an A so I'm happy. My prof likes my insight and wants me to contribute more to discussions in class (sometimes its a nuisance being smart). I've generally been pretty tired as I usually work out the morning of and have a class just before; also these classes were usually after a late basketball practice which is over now so I can get to bed earlier. I guess I should speak more and get the free participation marks. Almost done my nutrition assignment so I'll likely comment on it in friday's post. I'm looking forward to tomorrow as it is a lifting day, followed by a class on lower back assessments which I look forward to learning; but at night I'm going to go down to my rugby club for the first training session of the year and to meet the new coach. I'll bring my brace but I'm gonna see what I can do with a little tape. Here's what I ate today:

8:30am Muesli with soy milk, vitamins (multi, b, fish oil)
11:00am Two scrambled eggs, chicken bacon, lettuce, tomato, cheddar on whole wheat
2pm Smoothie - Mixed berries, 2 bananas, soy milk, soy protein, flax meal
6pm - Curried chickpea, red lentil, and quinoa stew
8pm - Smoothie - banana, pineapple, coconut milk, vanilla frozen yogurt, soy protein
10:30pm - Almonds, cashews, peanuts, raisins, dates; apple; fish oil capsule

Ate well today, got a little lazy while doing homework so had another smoothie then homemade trail mix and an apple. Can't really complain though as it is all pretty healthy. Once again it's nice to be back into a routine; now just to keep it that way. On that note... early day tomorrow to hit the gym so off to bed for me.

Feb 25th-Mar 1st

Spent the weekend in Montreal. I woke up early in order to get a workout in, did some deadlifts and other lifts then packed and got on the bus for montreal. It's a long bus ride and I can't read on buses or I get sick so I just kind of zoned out, napped, listened to music, and watched movies. Worked the soccer tournament the next day and had one of my athletes get a nice cut along their eyebrow requiring 3 stitches on the inside and another 9 on the outside. It was a good one but it meant that I was waiting for the doctor to come and do the stitches for a few hours. She did a great job though and all was well. Ended up going to a pub with one of the other therapists for some food and beers and watch the UFC (Can't believe they called the Penn vs. Fitch fight a draw). That was meant to be my cheat meal but while on my way back I had a burger due to lack of options and no food left. I felt like shit after that so I remember why I never eat fast food crap. Got back on track on Monday though after sleeping in. Made an awesome pasta bake dish with roasted vegetables (tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms) and some cheeses and bread crumbs.

Tuesday I woke up and had a good workout; glad to be back in the gym training after a long weekend of working. Also had a great day of eating. I don't have time to post everything I ate but I will start that back up again with daily posts as of Wednesday. Although my work schedule will be backed off a bit now; the assignments and tests for school are just starting to take over my life. I'm almost done an assignment on analyzing my diet for three days; I'll discuss it when I'm finished. Also just finishing up a program I designed for my brother like I mentioned last post. I enjoy doing this but tend to prefer doing it for more experienced lifters and people who care about their diet. Oh well he's my brother and the reason I will get free electrical work in the future. See you tomorrow.