Saturday, August 22, 2015

Dreaming and Pressing

True story. I have strange, vivid, and entertaining dreams every night. I always have, from the childhood right up to last night. They are as extensive and memorable as any Hollywood blockbuster you could find.

Last night`s dream started with a keg party that I was hosting with an old high school friend that I haven`t heard from in a while. That morphed into me being momentarily caught on some train tracks...and the next thing I knew I was flying through the air and ended up in South Florida. From there I started my journey home...first heading to a bus station and then trying to hitchhike with some local truckers. Then I woke up.

That`s a typical dream for me. Seriously.

What`s just as strange as my dreams is that fact that my mother claims to NEVER dream. Ever. I never had a discussion about dreaming with my father, but I`d be willing to bet that he and I shared some `dream gene`. I have to get these wild visions from somewhere, right...

Anyways, good times. And I slept like a champ last night. Seven and a half hours straight through. Yet I was still a little tired this morning, but some caffeine with breakfast took care of that.

Then it was off for a bike ride around town to do some errands, getting the paper, going to the market (more about that below), and then a ride around my little city`s picturesque river. The actors from the Festival were out practicing cricket for their annual game against the actors from the Shaw Festival, and the Art in the Park market was going full bore. It`s a perfect Saturday in Stratford. And I will be meeting up with J-Roc, CTT, later this afternoon for another tour around the river.

When I got home, I let Bally the Dog out into the backyard and got ready for a short pressing workout. It started with a PB...

Today's Personal Best = 40 pause pushups (pause at top & bottom)...2 minutes and 28 seconds. Lots of triceps shaking in last 28. And now. :) It`s been over an hour since the workout and it`s still difficult to type accurately. I hope the triceps will recover before Sunday`s deadlift session.

I followed that with dumbbell chest presses, WYLITs, and band pulls. It was not a high volume workout. In fact, I was supposed to deadlift today, but it didn`t fit my schedule. So I switched tomorrow to today...and will enjoy an empty gym for a trap bar deadlift challenge tomorrow.

Today`s PB was powered by caffeine and one of my odd breakfast bowls of coconut oil, walnuts, cacao nibs, and Paleo Protein powder.

I'm pretty sure I needed the caffeine on those last few reps. I've also been using creatine for the last 5 days since i returned home, and that might have helped me get a few reps to break my record.

So as you've noticed, I eat some 'odd' foods for breakfast. And things are about to get even more experimental. It's all in my quest to replace an old addiction to breakfast cereals with better ingredients for my digestive system than grains and milk.

The newest addition to my breakfast laboratory...the sweet, sweet nectar of the bees.

While in Istanbul I developed a bit of a honey addiction. Each morning several types were served at breakfast, including honey-still-in-the-comb - like the cereal, but real! ;). I filled a bowl with walnuts and raisins and then covered the mixture with honey, finished it, and repeated.

Now that's a breakfast bowl!

I vowed to get some quality honey upon my return home. Today the local Farmer's market was on, and I did just that, finding both regular liquid honey, and honey-in-the-comb, too.

BTW FYI ATTI (according to the internet):

And yes, the comb is totally safe to eat. People have been keeping bees — and eating the honeycomb — for several thousand years.

Now that I'm back at home with unrestricted access to coconut oil, coconut butter, almond butter, peanut butter, cacao nibs, and more goodies, let the breakfast bowl experiments begin...

Today's Kickbutt Mindset Tip:
Play up a level. Expect more of yourself. Get out of your comfort zone. Add Value. Encourage others. Make an impact. Live a life that matters.

Dream on and stay strong,

Craig Ballantyne, CTT

PS - Don't waste energy worrying...

It does not serve you. Put that energy into writing a Thank You card, being grateful, or mentoring someone.

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