Crossfit Til I Died

I went to a Crossfit Bootcamp on Sunday morning. Our local lululemon offers a free fitness class every weekend so that you can try out different classes and instructors without joining a gym/studio, which I think is pretty cool. I tried REALLY hard to dislike lulu when I first moved here because I could not fathom spending so much $$$ on workout clothes. I still kinda think that their clothes are overpriced, but lulu has won me over as a business because the individual stores near me really work hard to be part of the overall fitness community. I still get a little teary when I think about the huge group of very loud lulu employees cheering for the runners in downtown Calgary during the marathon. It was definitely one of my favorite moments of that race.

Anyway, I've been trying to mix up my workouts a little bit for the winter because I burned myself out on running and biking to the point where I don't want to do them outside...let alone on the treadmill or trainer during the 6 months of winter here. I had never done a bootcamp before, AND I found a friend who was willing to go with me, so off to lulu I went on Sunday.

I should have known when the instructor said that this was a particularly tough workout that it was going to hurt. But, I convinced myself it wouldn't be that bad because we were using smaller weights than they use in the Crossfit gym. Plus, the total workout was only 18 minutes long, and that included 3 whole minutes of rest. No problem, right? Wrong. Oh so wrong.

The workout was a 6 minute circuit x 3. By the middle of the second set, I was dying. Literally dying. By the third set, the only thing that kept me going was the fact that it was the last set. When the workout ended, I really felt like I was going to throw up. The only other times I have felt like that were after running 18 miles for the first time and during a particularly tough set of bike intervals after eating too close to the start of the workout. Crossfit had me there in a mere 18 minutes. Ridiculously intense.

Today is Tuesday, and I am still sore and limping around from the DOMS. Ouch.

I don't think I will be joining a Crossfit bootcamp any time soon. High intensity interval training has never really been my thing, but if it's yours, Crossfit is worth a try.

Another winner

I was skeptical that this would turn out the way that all the online reviews suggested it would, but it was like some kind of magic happened in the oven.

Kale Chips
1 bunch of kale
1 T olive oil
Sea salt to taste

Preheat oven to 350F. Wash kale leaves well. Remove the stems and tear the leaves into bite-sized pieces. Toss the leaves with the olive oil in a large bowl. Spread coated kale pieces over a baking sheet lined with parchment paper in a single layer. Sprinkle with sea salt. Bake in oven for 8-12 minutes, or until the edges of the leaves start to brown. Allow to cool.

The recipe I followed said that the kale chips are best if eaten relatively soon after being made. I didn't try to store them, but I can see where they might get soggy if you tried to.

These were surprisingly similar to potato chips, and actually very tasty. I would caution that you do not need to add as much salt as you might think, as I added too much on my first try. You can always add more to taste later. Oh, and don't leave these guys unattended in the oven, for obvious reasons.