HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRUCE!

THE BIRTHDAY BOY!!
SORRY BRUCE!! 
We missed your special day and would like to wish you a very happy belated Birthday. Our favourite little boy Bruce Finlayson turned 3 years old on March 28th. Happy Birthday Bruce! There has been a lot going on lately at the Hound Pound which is why there hasn't been a new for a while and why we missed posting Bruce's B-day. Stay tuned for more posts coming soon as we catch up on all the exciting events. In honour of Bruce, today's workout is dedicated to him.  Run 3KM today for Bruce, and because it's such a nice day. Bruce will be hitting the trails this afternoon. 

5x135# Squat Snatch


Jeff hits 5 rep squat snatch PR at The LAB.

DID YOU SOAK YOUR NUTS TODAY?

THIS IS NUTS!
I learned something new the other day that I thought I'd share with all the nut eaters out there. Maybe you know this, but I sure didn't. Did you know that soaking your nuts in water for a few hours before eating them will remove enzyme inhibitors which will allow the full nutritional value to be released, make the nut easier to digest, and remove tannic acid? I sure didn't. I wonder how many vitamins I've missed out on, and toxins I've consumed from the copious amounts of cashews I've eaten over my lifetime. We'll at least it's not to late for me. Let the nut soaking begin!

HOW TO SOAK YOUR NUTS:
Place your nuts (and seeds) in a bowl or jar filled with room temperature water and cover with something that will allow them to breath (a towel or cloth would work). Let soak for 2-24 hours depending on the nut or seed - see soaking chart below. You will also need to drain and rinse the nuts/seeds 2-3 times depending on how long they need to soak - each time you do this, make sure you rinse them until the water drains clear. Once the soak time is up, you're ready for a nut feast. You can store the extra "enzyme inhibitor" free nuts in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

NUT SOAKING TIMES (HOURS):
Almonds: 8 – 12
Cashews: 2 – 2.5
Sesame seeds: 8
Sunflower seeds: 2
Walnuts: 4
All other nuts: 6-24


ENJOY YOUR NUTS!

INTERGALACTIC RECAP

 WHAT A DAY!
Thought I'd share some good news and some photos from last weeks Intergalactic Throwdown hosted by The Lab and the Hound Pound. We raised a houndstanding $620 for The New Hope Dog Rescue in Thunder Bay! I'm so proud of all the athletes who competed, and can't wait to do it again. I'd also like to thank all the athletes, volunteers and everyone that brought yummy food to the post comp paleo pot-luck. Another great day at the Hound Pound.

Click here to see all photos!


Sub 7!!!


The countdown is on for the Crossfit sectionals at the end of March.  Jefff's 2k row time trial WOD resulted in a HUGE PR, and a 4 year goal accomplished.  Sub 7:00 by 1/10 of a second is still sub 7:00!!!

ARE YOU READY FOR FEBRUARY 5TH?

GET READY! Ready for what you might ask? The CrossFit SubZero’s InterGalactic ThrowDown and post-pompetition Paleo Potluck Party hosted by The Lab Fitness Training and sponsored by your very own Hound Pound. It’s not too late to sign up!


WHAT? This is a throw down, a show down, hell no you can’t slow down…Okay this is fitness challenge, for everyone, with proceeds going to two dog rescue organizations – which is why the Hound Pound is a proud supporter of this event. There will be 3 events to complete in one day, and we guarntee all the workouts will be scalable for everyone to be able to complete them (even women that at 8+ months pregnant!).


WHEN? Saturday, February 5 (All Day)
8:00 Doors open for athletes to warm up
9:00 Wod 1 first heat
12:00ish Wod 2 first heat
3:00ish Wod 3 first heat
6:00ish Hound Pound Paleo Pot Luck post wod party!!


CO$T? The LAB Fitness training is not charging for this event, but the event is collecting donations for “The New Hope Dog Resuse" in Thurder Bay, Ontario. Anyone that donates $40 or more will get a special event T-shirt that features the CFSZ “Marion the Snowman” logo back, and good karma for helping poor little doggies without homes.




HOW DO I SIGN UP? – Easy! Email thelab@thelabfitnesstraining.com and tell them Hound Pound sent you!



WHY SHOULD I COMPETE?
Lots of reasons:




  1. It gives you something to train for and be accountable for
  2. It’s fun to hang out with ‘The LAB’ athletes and coaches all day long and go through the workout pain together.
  3. It will provide you the opportunity to push to new limits that you may not have pushed to in a group class or training on your own.
  4. The cool kids are doing it – avoid the “oh I totally could have done that” feeling when everyone else is talking about it.
  5. Do one thing a day that scares you (as per the lululemon manifesto)
  6. It’s for a VERY good cause. New Hope Dog Rescue
  7. You could win! And get a new T-SHIRT!!!!


WHAT IF I READ ALL THE REASONS WHY I SHOULD COMPLETE, BUT DON'T WANT TO? Then come out anyway and cheer on The LAB Athletes and join us for the Post Paleo Potluck feast after. RSVP here, and we'll send you address and directions.

WHAT SHOULD I BRING TO THE POTLUCK? Anything paleo! This means nothing that has been processed or contains processed ingredients, including: grains, dairy, sugar, potatoes and legumes. Find out more about Paleo here.



I can't wait for next weekend! We hope to see you all there!!!

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

A new year is upon us.  Did you succeed in accomplishing your 2010 goals?  If so, great! If not, why?  Quite often when goal setting, we think of the end result we want to accomplish, but don’t think about how we are going to get there.

It’s easy to say “this year, I’m going to get fit”.  That’s a great thing to say, and it’s definitely a realistic goal, but how are you going to get fit?  Do you have a game plan?  Do you have the resources you will need in place to get fit?  Have you thought about how your priorities will need to change?

Prioritize
If your goal for 2011 is to get fit, you need to make this a top priority in your life.  This means that some other current priority will have to get bumped down the list.  We have all heard someone say “but I don’t have time for [insert excuse here]”.  Time is the currency used to measure how much you value something.  If you spend 60 hours at your job each week, it’s obvious you value your career.  If you spend an hour each night watching television, you could make an argument that you value your TV time.  If you say “I don’t have time to exercise”, it doesn’t really mean you don’t have time to exercise, it means that work and television are higher priorities than exercise.  Make a list of your priorities, and hold yourself accountable to them.

Game Plan
How are you going to get fit?  Do you have a game plan to accomplish your goal?  If not, did you seek out the resources required that will assist in creating the game plan?  You can’t say “I want to get fit”, and just go at it blindly.  You need to have a game plan in place to make it happen.

Stick With It!
Why does every gym see a lot more business in January, and then less as the year progresses?  We all love the idea of being fit, healthy, lean, strong, etc.  However, not all of us love the idea of working really hard to get there.  If you want lifelong health/wellness/fitness, than you have to work for it, and stick with it!!

Excuses
Don’t get caught using one of these top 5 excuses!

1. “I’ll do it tomorrow”.  Today is always tomorrow if you continue with this mindset.
2. “I don’t have time”.  You always have time for the things you value most in life.
3. “It’s too hard”. Running across Canada on one leg dying from cancer as Terry Fox did is hard.
4. “He/she can do it, but I can’t”.  He/she can do it because they don’t use this excuse.
5. “I can’t afford it”.  If you can’t afford to invest in your own health, longevity, peace of mind, and serenity, what is it you can afford?

Post your 2011 goals, and your game plan to accomplish them below.